student_tasks.md

Week 12 – Student Tasks: Turtle Catcher (Capstone)

Task A: Run and play

1. Open week12.py in Thonny
2. Press Run (F5)
3. Click on the red circle with your mouse to collect points
4. Try to get a score of at least 10 before time runs out
5. Challenge: Can you beat 15 points?

Task B: Make modifications

1. Change game duration

   • Find: GAME_SECONDS = 25
   • Try: GAME_SECONDS = 30 (more time)
   • Try: GAME_SECONDS = 15 (harder challenge)

2. Change target appearance

   • Find: target.color("red")
   • Try: target.color("blue") or other colors
   • Find: target.shape("circle")
   • Try: target.shape("square") or target.shape("triangle")

3. Make target bigger or smaller

   • After creating target, add:

   target.shapesize(2, 2)  # Bigger (easier)
   # or
   target.shapesize(0.7, 0.7)  # Smaller (harder)

4. Change click tolerance

   • Find: if target.distance(x, y) < 25:
   • Try: < 40 (easier - more forgiving clicks)
   • Try: < 15 (harder - need precise clicks)

5. Change update speed

   • Find: screen.ontimer(tick, 250)
   • Try: screen.ontimer(tick, 100) (updates faster - smoother)
   • Try: screen.ontimer(tick, 500) (updates slower)

Task C: Add enhancements

1. Show final score

   def tick():
       if time_up():
           writer.goto(-120, 20)
           writer.write("TIME UP!", font=("Arial", 24, "bold"))
           writer.goto(-100, -20)
           writer.write(f"Final Score: {score}", font=("Arial", 18, "normal"))
           return
       draw_ui()
       screen.ontimer(tick, 250)

2. Add a win condition

   • Win if score reaches 20:

   def on_click(x, y):
       global score
       if time_up():
           return
       if target.distance(x, y) < 25:
           score += 1
           if score >= 20:  # Win!
               writer.goto(-70, 0)
               writer.write("YOU WIN!", font=("Arial", 24, "bold"))
               return
           move_target()
           draw_ui()

3. Shrinking target challenge

   • Target gets smaller as you score more:

   def on_click(x, y):
       global score
       if time_up():
           return
       if target.distance(x, y) < 25:
           score += 1
           move_target()
           # Shrink target
           size = max(0.5, 1.5 - (score * 0.05))
           target.shapesize(size, size)
           draw_ui()

4. Add miss penalty

   • Clicking and missing decreases score:

   def screen_click(x, y):
       global score
       if time_up():
           return
       if target.distance(x, y) < 25:
           score += 1
           move_target()
       else:
           score = max(0, score - 1)  # Lose point for missing
       draw_ui()
   
   # Replace target.onclick with:
   screen.onclick(screen_click)

Task D: Advanced challenges

1. Multiple targets

   • Create 3 targets worth different points:

   # Create multiple targets
   targets = []
   colors = ["red", "blue", "green"]
   points = [1, 2, 3]  # Different point values
   
   for i in range(3):
       t = turtle.Turtle()
       t.shape("circle")
       t.color(colors[i])
       t.penup()
       t.goto(random.randint(-320, 320), random.randint(-200, 200))
       targets.append(t)
   
   def check_click(x, y):
       global score
       if time_up():
           return
       for i, target in enumerate(targets):
           if target.distance(x, y) < 25:
               score += points[i]  # Add corresponding points
               target.goto(random.randint(-320, 320), random.randint(-200, 200))
               draw_ui()
               break
   
   screen.onclick(check_click)

2. Moving targets

   • Targets move on their own:

   target_vx = 5  # Velocity in X direction
   target_vy = 3  # Velocity in Y direction
   
   def tick():
       global target_vx, target_vy
       
       if time_up():
           writer.goto(-90, 0)
           writer.write("TIME UP!", font=("Arial", 24, "bold"))
           return
       
       # Move target
       new_x = target.xcor() + target_vx
       new_y = target.ycor() + target_vy
       
       # Bounce off walls
       if new_x < -330 or new_x > 330:
           target_vx = -target_vx
       if new_y < -230 or new_y > 230:
           target_vy = -target_vy
       
       target.goto(new_x, new_y)
       draw_ui()
       screen.ontimer(tick, 50)  # Faster updates for movement

3. Difficulty selector

   • Choose difficulty at start:

   print("Choose difficulty:")
   print("1 = Easy (30s, big target)")
   print("2 = Normal (25s, normal target)")
   print("3 = Hard (15s, small target)")
   choice = input("Enter 1, 2, or 3: ")
   
   if choice == "1":
       GAME_SECONDS = 30
       target.shapesize(2, 2)
   elif choice == "3":
       GAME_SECONDS = 15
       target.shapesize(0.6, 0.6)
   else:
       GAME_SECONDS = 25

4. Countdown at start

   • Add 3-2-1-GO countdown:

   def countdown():
       writer.goto(-50, 0)
       for i in range(3, 0, -1):
           writer.clear()
           writer.write(str(i), font=("Arial", 48, "bold"))
           time.sleep(1)
       writer.clear()
       writer.write("GO!", font=("Arial", 48, "bold"))
       time.sleep(0.5)
       writer.clear()
       writer.goto(-330, 210)
   
   countdown()
   start_time = time.time()  # Start timing after countdown
   tick()

5. High score system

   • Track and display best score:

   high_score = 0
   
   def tick():
       global high_score
       if time_up():
           if score > high_score:
               high_score = score
           writer.goto(-120, 30)
           writer.write("TIME UP!", font=("Arial", 24, "bold"))
           writer.goto(-140, 0)
           writer.write(f"Score: {score}", font=("Arial", 18, "normal"))
           writer.goto(-140, -30)
           writer.write(f"High Score: {high_score}", font=("Arial", 16, "normal"))
           return
       draw_ui()
       screen.ontimer(tick, 250)

Portfolio presentation prep

1. Add a title screen

   • Show game name at start
   • Add your name as creator
   • Add brief instructions

2. Polish the visual design

   • Choose a color theme
   • Add a background color: screen.bgcolor("lightblue")
   • Consistent font styling

3. Test thoroughly

   • Play 5 games
   • Note any bugs
   • Get feedback from a friend

4. Document your enhancements

   • What modifications did you make?
   • Why did you make those choices?
   • What was challenging?

Success checklist

• I can click targets and score points
• I understand how onclick() works
• I understand how ontimer() creates the game loop
• I added at least two enhancements from Task C or D
• My game is polished and ready to present
• I can explain my code to someone else