Topic outline
This course should guide you through the steps needed to learn Greenfoot and:- teach you how to program;
- get you ready for your controlled assessment tasks;
- let you make an amazing computer game.
Stepping towards SuccessI strongly suggest you don't try to take on too much too soon. Build a simple game and then add layers of complexity or difficulty to it as you get more confident with Greenfoot and Programming. This will ensure you learn the skills you need and can cope with the errors you will encounter.Introducing Greenfoot
In topic 1 we will cover:
- Installing Greenfoot
- Introduce the GUI
Create Actors
In the topic 2 quick guide you will learn:
- how to create actors
- about the move() function
- about the turn() function
IF Selection Statements
The topic 3 quick guide will show you:
- IF Selection statements
- turning at the worlds edge with atWorldEdge();
Random Numbers
In the topic 4 quick guide you will see how you can make movement more interesting with random numbers. In the official tutorial you will see how this can be used to create a randomly placed enemy.
Keyboard Controls
In this topic you will learn about keyboard control using the Greenfoot.isKeyDown(). Two styles of keyboard control are described:
- Birds Eye - looking down on the object which turns and can move in circles.
- Scrolling Window - looking side on so object moves up/down and backwards/forwards.
You will also see how an alternative to IF Statements works - it is called SwitchCase.Classes/Objects Interaction
In the topic 6 quick guide you will see how to:
- eat other actors on the stage
- it is also a good chance to revise:
- creating a new actor
- making it move randomly around the stage
- turning at the sides
Using Variables
In the topic 7 quick guide you will see how to:
- create variables and increment to keep score
- stop the game when the score reaches a certain point.
- add the score to the screen - this uses a Counter.java class and image from Mik's blog. You can download them below.
Sound
This topic will show you how to work with sound in Greenfoot.
Adding Levels
In this topic we cover adding levels by changing the world.
Jumping (and Gravity)
In this topic we look at jumping. I have included my Jack.java class incase it helps anyone.