Create Your Own Computer Game Assignment #3

Create Your Own Computer Game
Home Study Assignment #3

Let’s look back at your work in this class. First you proposed a project. Then you planned out what it would look like. Then you created your characters, painted backgrounds, and programmed for several weeks. Along the way you wrote an ad for your product and tried to finish writing the game. Now, in our last assignment, you will think about how to go further.

You’ve all asked questions in this class. That’s essential: it’s how you learn. Sometimes you’ve gotten answers: that’s nice too, but not always essential. When you haven’t gotten an answer, there are several possible reasons, depending on the question:

Maybe you wanted to do something that’s beyond the capabilities of MicroWorlds.
Maybe the question just wasn’t relevant for your particular project.
Maybe your teachers didn’t know the answer and were unable to find it.
Maybe you’re just not ready for the answer yet, because there’s a whole bunch of stuff you have to learn first.
Maybe the answer would just take too long for this very brief course.

So, now is your chance to think about all those questions you asked that didn’t get answered, as well as all those that you didn’t even ask:

Start making a list of all the things that you want to learn how to do when writing programs now and in the future (not just the game you are writing now!). Don’t include anything that you already know how to do. Don’t worry about whether you can do them in MicroWorlds or not.

In the meantime, if you have bought a copy of MicroWorlds, you can work with it at home after the course is over. Send email to your teacher (ljd@larrydavidson.com) so he can send you your game at the end of the course; tell him whether you want your game in Macintosh or Windows format. And consider learning more about programming in the future. There’s a lot more that you can still learn about MicroWorlds, and after that there are many other programming languages. But don’t jump right to C++ or Java, which is what many professionals use: they are very difficult for most high-school students, and quite challenging even for college students. There are other possibilities before that, such as Visual Basic, Scheme, Squeak, or Ruby. The important things are to continue broadening and deepening your knowledge, to challenge yourself, to do good work, and to do have fun doing so!