railsbridge / snake-game-tutorial Goto Github PK

This makes it so the first time people try to end the game it doesn't give a message.

1. Beginners could use Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/help/167/en
2. More advanced users could use Github Pages: http://pages.github.com/
3. SUPER ADVANCED users could use s3_website: https://github.com/laurilehmijoki/s3_website

Text says that CHUNK is moving the game forward, but advanceGame() is in snake.js.

typo:
argument

A few students didn't have the technical words to express why we replace the snake. It would be great to make it more obvious that the snake in the global scope is different than the snake in moveSnake.

remove 'if' in between 'on' and 'the'

DougM to convert these notes into separate issues, or make a pull req, after the inaugural workshop (and post-workshop update).

These notes were extracted from multi-item "issues" that were closed once a single item had been handled.

Lesson 2:

• Code explication at the bottom of the page is good. We should mention it up top.
• How to comment in js?
• "Get the value" of draw() "and execute it with the list" is hard to understand without functional thinking, and a basic understanding of an interpreted language.
• typos -- parentheses (plural) and its (possessive pronoun)

Lesson 2 Play Time:

• Level of handholding in the lesson contrasts starkly with the absence of handholding in the exercises:
• how to comment (mechanically, and philosophically)
• how do I figure out what colors are valid
• have to figure out to add another pixel hash to the snake array to make it "longer" (or did I just make it wider? -- very little directionality implied by the data structure)
• not very obvious to a noob that you can add more objects to the array to be drawn; if they copy and modify the original code to create a parallel set of commands for (e.g.) an apple, the snake seems to disappear from the canvas.
• Explain camelCase convention?
• Are you expecting them to open up and interpret chunk.js? Why all-caps in code?
• Is there some habit about commenting a code file to say what (plus when and who) that we should be encouraging?

Lesson 3:

• Do they empty snake.js and start with a clean file?
• The added object from lesson 2 play time is not carried forward.
• Might ask them what are the largest and smallest values for a "pixel" to be drawn.
• Somewhat confusing to draw a box with many pixels and call it a pixel.

Lesson 4:

• Definitely need to keep the Lesson 3 snake.js code and extend it for this round. Must save .js and refresh browser before using console.
• typos: called; oldSegment's (possessive)
• Why create a newSnake? Counter-intuitive to moving the old snake. Why not return [newSegment];? Have to do snake = moveSnake(snake); to move the snake, so the naming is confusing, too. snake is actually snakePosition, so overly simplified naming piles on unnecessary cognitive dissonance for the noob.
• If chunk.js is functioning as a game engine, then it makes sense to separately call:

  snake = moveSnake(snake); // update cycle
  drawSnake(snake); // draw cycle
  but that's an advanced concept, and otherwise my lazy ass wants to go straight to:
  drawSnake(moveSnake(snake));
  which of course doesn't work because moveSnake(); doesn't move the snake.

• I think snakePosition = movePosition(snakePosition); is a bit easier to grasp, but I could be totally wrong.

overall -- just do separate PRs for typos (one per file?)

Doesn't seem to be helpful, often makes things more confusing.

Level of handholding in the lesson contrasts starkly with the absence of handholding in the exercises:

• how to comment (mechanically, and philosophically)
• how do I figure out what colors are valid
• have to figure out to add another pixel hash to the snake array to make it "longer" (or did I just make it wider? -- very little directionality implied by the data structure)
• not very obvious to a noob that you can add more objects to the array to be drawn; if they copy and modify the original code to create a parallel set of commands for (e.g.) an apple, the snake seems to disappear from the canvas.

Explain camelCase convention?

Are you expecting them to open up and interpret chunk.js? Why all-caps in code?

Is there some habit about commenting a code file to say what (plus when and who) that we should be encouraging?

The alert is annoying because it takes focus. Let's add a function to CHUNK to writeText or something.

Several of the intermediate students got caught on the CHUNK.draw function taking a collection of items to draw. Some would attempt to call it twice and it would clear the screen of the previous items.

A possibly more clear example would be to extract a drawableItems collection in lesson 2/3 instead of just calling CHUNK.draw([drawableSnake])

Do they empty snake.js and start with a clean file?

The added object from lesson 2 play time is not carried forward.

Might ask them what are the largest and smallest values for a "pixel" to be drawn.

Somewhat confusing to draw a box with many pixels and call it a pixel.

Typing stuff into snake.js doesn't execute any code. Since I already spotted snake.js included in index.html, I figured out to save the source (in my text editor) and refresh the index page (in my browser).

Definitely need to keep the Lesson 3 snake.js code and extend it for this round. Must save .js and refresh browser before using console.

typos:
let's (contraction)
called
segment's (possessive)

Why create a newSnake? Counter-intuitive to moving the old snake. Why not return [newSegment];? Have to do snake = moveSnake(snake); to move the snake, so the naming is confusing, too. snake is actually snakePosition, so overly simplified naming piles on unnecessary cognitive dissonance for the noob.

If chunk.js is functioning as a game engine, then it makes sense to separately call:
snake = moveSnake(snake); // update cycle drawSnake(snake); // draw cycle
but that's an advanced concept, and otherwise my lazy ass wants to go straight to:
drawSnake(moveSnake(snake));
which of course doesn't work because moveSnake(); doesn't move the snake.

I think snakePosition = movePosition(snakePosition); is a bit easier to grasp, but I could be totally wrong.