Game dev course, lesson 0: your workshop

Table of Contents

Welcome 👋

🎮 This series is a game development course that starts from little or no programming experience.

🐍 We will use Python in small, playful console projects first, then work toward Godot and GDScript so you can build real games with graphics, input, and levels.

✨ One blog post is one lesson. Each lesson includes things to try on your machine so you are building, not only reading.

Who is this for? 🧒👩‍🏫

These lessons are for kids about age 8 and up, teens, and grown-ups who are new to code. A grown-up (parent, teacher, or friend) should help with downloads, installs, the terminal, and deleting files—those steps are easy to mix up, and two brains are better than one. 🧠🧠

Lessons here are about typing code on your computer (not chatting with strangers online). Your family still sets the rules for games, chat, and the web.

What you will build first 📜

Soon you will write a tiny Mad Lib “game” in Python: the computer asks you for words, then prints a silly story. That lesson teaches variables, input, and output—the same ideas games use for names, choices, and dialog.

🧰 Before that, you need a working workshop: editor, Python, a successful Hello World, and comfortable file and folder habits.

How lessons are structured 🗺️

• Lesson 0 (this post): outcomes checklist + where to find detailed setup.
• Lesson 1 onward: concepts framed around game ideas, short Try this steps, optional stretch goals.
• Companion lab repository: OS-specific install notes, copy-paste commands, and reference solutions for each project (link below).

Setup outcomes checklist (do these before lesson 1) ✅

1. Install a code editor 💻

Pick one editor and get comfortable opening a folder and saving a file:

• Visual Studio Code or Cursor are solid choices for this course.
• Add the Python extension (or built-in Python support) so you get syntax highlighting and simple run/debug integration.

You are done when you can open an empty folder and create a new file (for example hello.py).

2. Install or verify Python 🐍

You need Python 3 installed so your computer can run your code. A grown-up can help if this step feels tricky.

• In a terminal, try python --version or python3 --version.
• You are done when you see a version like Python 3.x. If the number after 3. is 10 or higher, you are in great shape—ask a grown-up if you are not sure.

If a command is not found, open the companion SETUP.md—it uses uv as the main install path (see uv docs) and shows a backup path without uv if your family prefers that.

3. Hello World smoke test 👋

Create a file named hello.py with:

print("Hello, world!")

Run it from a terminal in the same folder:

python hello.py

or:

python3 hello.py

You are done when you see Hello, world! printed with no errors. 🎉

4. Basic filesystem skills (files and directories) 📁

Games are made of files: code, assets, saves. Practice in your course project folder:

• Create a new file and a new folder.
• Rename a file and a folder.
• Delete a file and an empty folder (be careful: deleted files may not be recoverable).

Ask a grown-up before you delete anything outside your practice folder—or anything you did not create.

You are done when you can do those steps without losing track of where hello.py lives.

Canonical setup guide (companion repository) 🔗

Detailed, OS-specific walkthroughs for the four pillars above live in the companion lab on GitHub:

Companion lab repository — SETUP.md

That page has Windows, macOS, and Linux tips so you can follow one clear path. It also recommends uv (Astral uv docs) so a grown-up can install Python and run your lesson files with one consistent tool—still optional if your family uses another setup.

Repo home (code + lessons): course lab on GitHub

Checkpoint 🎯

Before you open lesson 1, you should be able to answer yes to:

1. I can open my editor and save a .py file in a folder I chose.
2. Your computer can run Python and show a version (for example with uv, python, or python3—your grown-up can match the companion SETUP.md).
3. hello.py prints Hello, world!.
4. I can create, rename, and delete files and folders in that project folder.

Next lesson ➡️

Lesson 1 builds a Mad Lib console game: variables, input(), and print(). Head there when your checklist is green. You’ve got this! 💪