MYP Personal Project - Programming a simple game in Python

Planning:
Learning Goal
Making my own game has been one of the
top things that I have been wanting to do since I was
a little kid. I have been passionate about this topic for
almost my entire life and have always wanted to
learn more about how to code and create programs.
I have always tried to learn how to code by watching
tutorials and videos about it but I eventually found
out that it was nowhere near as easy as it looked.
However, I never gave up on trying to learn how to code and joined “Coding Clubs” in
elementary school and looked at videos of professional programmers making cool programs
and games. Then, in Grade 9 Mathematics, we had an assignment that required us to code a
simple simulation to figure out whether walking or running in the rain would be more efficient
and get you less wet. This task reignited the flame for my passion to code and I started to watch
tutorials again on how a beginner like myself could learn how to code simple programs. When I
heard that the Personal Projects were going to start soon, I immediately thought about coding
for my project. This was the perfect opportunity to seriously learn how to code so I decided that
my learning goal would be to learn how to program a game from scratch using a coding
language.

Product
For my product, my goal was to be able to create a multiplayer game with the
programming language “Python” and make it so that it could be
played with a friend together on a device. After thinking about what
types of games I should try to program, I decided to make “Tic Tac
Toe” from scratch. This would be a simple game yet still a
challenge for a complete beginner like me to program so it was the
ideal choice. I decided that I would try and add a few aspects of
my own into the game to give it some more originality and
creativity.
 Success Criteria for Product

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 How will

you know?
Function The program has The program The program On top of meeting I could create a
Do the code and frequent bugs and works with works perfectly 5-6 strand, the separate program
the functions in glitches that affect occasional bugs or without any bugs game and the that I assign myself
the game work the game and glitches that affect or glitches at all performance of the such as a “random
without any errors works the game but the that affect the code is flawless color generator” and
that affect the
occasionally and performance of the game and the with no visual or try code that to see
performance?
alter the code contains no code is faultless internal errors that if everything works
performance of errors with no errors affect the gameplay like it is supposed to
the code

Structure Some variables All variables and All variables and All variables and I could create the
Is the structure of and functions are functions are functions are functions are program then
the code accurately labeled accurately labeled accurately labeled accurately labeled re-explain the entire
organized so it is and the comments game from the start
with a few and all lines of with detailed
legible which inside the program to show why the
are difficult to comments that code are comments that codes and functions
functions execute
comprehend explain the described with describe each are where they are
which actions?
functions of the legible comments code’s function and and what their
codes that explain the purpose and are purpose is in the
function comprehensive game

Features The game’s The game’s The game has a The game has an I could create two
Does the game features are basic features have feature where you AI bot that the separate
display a wide and basic attributes can increase the player can go gamemodes for my
range of features straightforward game, the regular
and contain space of the Tic against alone and
that are original with no unique basic game and my
attributes added to fundamental traits Tac Toe board the bot revamped version of
and unique?
the original Tic Tac that are necessary such as a 5x5 automatically the game and
Toe game for a Tic Tac Toe area instead of a detects the player’s compare the unique
game regular 3x3 board movements and features and
place their mark attributes that I
accordingly implemented into
my code

Simplicity The code has The code has The code contains All lines of code are I could create a
Is the code as multiple actions multiple actions actions that are as concise and separate game with
concise as it can that are applied to that are condensed concise and brief as they can the same
be in order to be execute a single into a single line of functionality that is
condensed into a possibly be which
cost-efficient? function and can code with the an identical replica
be condensed into same functionality single line of code perform the same of my game but
much more and contain some and rarely functionality as without any
concise and brief functions that can contains any lines multiple lines of condensed lines of
lines of code be compacted that can be codes code and see how
further compacted further many lines I
reduced by being
concise in my game
Long Term Plan

Relevant
Dates Task To Do List Success Criteria Progress notes

June - Programming applications -Download PyCharm and Function DONE

- Tutorials on basic coding Python
-Watch beginner tutorials on
YouTube

July - Coding lessons -Start taking coding Function DONE

camps/lessons during the
summer
-Become an intermediate level
coder

August - Create game outline -Create the initial outline for the Structure DONE
program

September - Make simple drafts of game -Make drafts of program so it Structure/Function DONE
can be reviewed and improved
on
-Construct 3 rough drafts of
game and compare them

October - Create a draft display -Make the display of the game Aesthetics In Progress
- Make designs for game -Create draft designs that will
go into the final program

November - Create background audio -Record audio for the program Originality N/A
- Add creative features -Find copyright free sound
effects online
-Add own original features to
the game

December - Finalize display and designs -Finish all drafts in the game Aesthetics N/A
-Implement all designs into
program

January - Send final product to -Show other people the game N/A
supervisor and share a survey

Applying Skills

To achieve my learning goal of creating a game from scratch and accomplish my

product, I had to prepare how to learn to program in the Python programming language and
done a substantial amount of research on the topic. The first step I took was creating a solid
research plan that I could follow and use for the entirety of my project. In order to go from a
beginner level to a somewhat intermediate level of programming, I created multiple
sub-questions regarding the topic and outlined all the content I needed in my project. I used a
variety of primary sources which included a programming camp over the summer, taught by
professionals (ID Tech). This camp helped jump-start me into my experience with coding and I
somewhat had a brief idea of how to start creating my product. A video that I found extremely
useful was RealPython.com. This site allowed me to review all my syntax and terminology that I
used in my code and explained how to solve errors that frequently occurred (Real Python) whilst
also teaching me more information that I had not yet previously learned. Using my research and
critical thinking skills, I started shaping a basic draft of my program.
During the process of creating my product, I found it difficult to meet the requirements of
my long-term goal and manage my time so I could follow the plan. Though procrastination was a
large factor that contributed to this, the main challenge was balancing my schoolwork with my
project work. According to the Employee Assistance Network, by making lists and delegating
the tasks to my level of expertise, I could create a much more stable balance in work. By
prioritizing my time and sorting my tasks into categories, I was able to overcome this obstacle
and persevere through finalizing the draft of my product and getting back on track with my
research (Roche). In order to prevent another blockage in my plan, I learned that managing my
schedule ahead of time helped achieve my long-term goals. Overall, throughout this process, I
realized that it was vital to have a solid plan and schedule of my tasks in order to achieve my
learning goal and finalize my product.