CS 276 // GAME SYSTEMS IN GODOT

Fresh Eyes.

Lecture W8R1: Stakeholder Review 1 and the Prototype Gate

▶  PRESS START

Lucas P. Cordova, Ph.D.

Willamette University  |  Thursday, October 15, 2026

SCORE 000276HI 999999

Outline

QUEST LOG

By 9:59 PM tonight: the prototype tag on the reviewed build and the repo URL submitted by each member. Stakeholders: the five-part review sheet, handed to the host before you leave.

CS 276

← OUTLINE

LEVEL 01

Run of Show

Ninety minutes, four games, ten reviewers

SCORE 000276HI 999999

Today, by the clock

When What Who
9:40 Prep Push the build to main, tag it prototype, and write the README run instructions (next slide). Stakeholders pick up a review sheet and reread their three questions. Everyone
9:50 Round A: Teams 1 and 2 host. Their stakeholders play, then write. Hosts and players
10:15 Round B: Teams 3 and 4 host. Their stakeholders play, then write. Swap
10:40 Teams start FEEDBACK.md. Studio. Teams
11:05 Quest log.  
CHECKPOINT

Hosts: same rules as Tuesday. Hands off the keyboard, no hints, write what you see. Players: think out loud. You cannot do anything wrong.

CS 276

Prep: ten minutes to ship and tag

PUSH AND TAG

Terminal (one teammate, in the repo folder):

  1. git status. Anything listed is unsaved work.
  2. git add -A, then git commit -m "Prototype build".
  3. On a feature branch? git checkout main, then git merge <branch>.
  4. git push origin main.
  5. git tag prototype, then git push origin prototype. The tag pins the build your stakeholders play.
OR

GitHub Desktop (same result):

  1. Tick all changed files, type the summary Prototype build, click Commit to main.
  2. On a feature branch? Branch > Merge into current branch from main first.
  3. Click Push origin.
  4. History tab, right-click the top commit, Create Tag, name it prototype. Click Push origin again (tags go with it).
CHECKPOINT

Then, both teammates: on github.com, open the branch menu, Tags tab: prototype is listed. The README names the main scene and the keys. Three lines are enough.

QUEST LOG

Stakeholders: pick up a review sheet, reread your three questions.

CS 276

Who plays what

RoundGameHosted byPlayed by (stakeholders)
ATeam 1Sophie, TeganJames, Nathaniel, Roman
ATeam 2Laken (James is away playing Team 1)Adrian, Ryan
BTeam 3Adrian, Nathaniel, RomanEvan, Tegan
BTeam 4Ryan, EvanSophie, Laken, Cecil
  • One host per player. More players than hosts? The extra player goes second, six minutes each. Your teammate may be away reviewing another game.
  • The player writes the graded note, so the host logs only what the player will not: hesitations, what they tried before asking, the thing you never expected.
  • Players: clone from the README on your own laptop, so the team sees a true fresh start.
CS 276

Players: get the prototype build

CLONE THE TAG

Terminal, on your own laptop:

  1. On github.com, open the team's repo, click the green Code button, copy the HTTPS URL.
  2. git clone <url>, then cd into the new folder.
  3. git checkout prototype. This is the tagged build, even if the team keeps pushing.
  4. In Godot: Import, pick the folder's project.godot, open it, run the project.
  5. Read the README for the main scene and the keys. Then play.
OR

No git on this laptop?

  1. On github.com, open the branch menu above the file list, click the Tags tab, choose prototype.
  2. Green Code button, Download ZIP. Unzip it.
  3. Import the folder in Godot as above.
WATCH OUT

Ask the team nothing. If the README does not get you to a running game, that is your first play log line.

CS 276

← OUTLINE

LEVEL 02

Review Rounds

Play first. Then write.

SCORE 000276HI 999999

Round A: play

ROUND A

Twelve minutes. Teams 1 and 2 host. James, Nathaniel, Roman, Adrian, Ryan play.

  1. Players: on your own laptop, clone the repo, git checkout prototype, open it in Godot, follow the README. Say what you are trying to do, out loud.
  2. Hosts: one player each, silent. Note only what the player will not write down.
  3. Stuck for a full minute? Hosts may ask one thing: "What are you trying to do right now?"
  4. At the timer, players stop, even mid-run.
CS 276

Round A: write the note

Write
1 Play logThree lines: what you tried, what happened, where you ended up.
2 The momentThe one moment the loop worked on you. Be exact about when.
3 The wallWhere you got stuck or confused, and what you expected instead.
4 The questionOne question about the loop the team must answer to reach alpha.
5 The plan checkDoes the build match the proposal's Prototype line? Build next, drop what?

Write on the Stakeholder Review 1 sheet, alone. When the timer ends, hand it to the host. The team gets two independent sheets.

PATTERN

Hosts, meanwhile: fix nothing yet. Read your own observation log and mark what both players hit.

CS 276

Round B: play

ROUND B

Twelve minutes. Teams 3 and 4 host. Evan, Tegan, Sophie, Laken, Cecil play.

  1. Players: on your own laptop, clone the repo, git checkout prototype, open it in Godot, follow the README. Say what you are trying to do, out loud.
  2. Hosts: one player each, silent. Note only what the player will not write down.
  3. Stuck for a full minute? Hosts may ask one thing: "What are you trying to do right now?"
  4. At the timer, players stop, even mid-run.
CS 276

Round B: write the note

Write
1 Play logThree lines: what you tried, what happened, where you ended up.
2 The momentThe one moment the loop worked on you. Be exact about when.
3 The wallWhere you got stuck or confused, and what you expected instead.
4 The questionOne question about the loop the team must answer to reach alpha.
5 The plan checkDoes the build match the proposal's Prototype line? Build next, drop what?

Write on the Stakeholder Review 1 sheet, alone. When the timer ends, hand it to the host. The team gets two independent sheets.

PATTERN

Hosts, meanwhile: fix nothing yet. Read your own observation log and mark what both players hit.

CS 276

← OUTLINE

LEVEL 03

Ship It

Tag the build, submit, and studio

SCORE 000276HI 999999

The tag, checked

LIVE DEMO

One teammate, before anything else:

  1. Run git tag. The list includes prototype.
  2. Run git log --oneline -3. The tagged commit (marked tag: prototype) is the build your stakeholders played.
  3. Leave it there. The gate grades the reviewed build; tonight's fixes go on top of it as new commits.
WATCH OUT

Tagged the wrong commit, or forgot in prep? git tag -d prototype, then git tag prototype <hash> from git log --oneline, then git push --force origin prototype.

PATTERN

A tag is a name pinned to one commit. main keeps moving; the gate build stays findable.

CS 276

Studio: start the feedback log

CO-OP MODE

Until the bell, with your teammate:

  1. Create FEEDBACK.md at the repo root with a heading per stakeholder note.
  2. Copy each point from the two sheets under its heading. Leave the verb blank for now: adopt, adapt, or decline comes with a reason, in the Sprint 1 report.
  3. Where both notes hit the same wall, open an issue tonight: a player-facing title, the observation quoted as evidence, a Done when list, one owner.
  4. Move the Sprint 1 board. Done cards go to Done; the new issues go to Todo.
PATTERN

Players are reliable about problems and unreliable about fixes. Log the problem under their words; the fix is yours to choose and defend.

Lab 4 questions welcome. Flag me down.

CS 276

← OUTLINE

LEVEL 04

Game Over Screen

What happens next

SCORE 000276HI 999999

Quest log

QUEST LOG
  • Tonight, 9:59 PM: prototype tag pushed, repo URL submitted by each member.
  • Stakeholders: your five-part sheet goes to the host before you leave today. Participation is recorded separately.
  • Tue Oct 20, 9:59 PM: Lab 4 (component kit) due. Class: juice and game feel; Lab 5 goes out.
  • Thu Oct 22: Sprint 1 report, with FEEDBACK.md answered: adopt, adapt, or decline, each with a reason. Sprint 2 begins.
CHECKPOINT

One sentence per team before you go: the thing a stakeholder did that you never expected.

CS 276