3.01 Variables and Assignments

UESL Game Maker · Mission 1 of 2

Give your game a memory

Store a player profile, preserve a checkpoint, and update a star counter.

Classroom prototype: UESL Star Trail, a game in which players collect stars across levels.

UESL’s foundation supports community and opportunities through gaming for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our examples model a game maker’s settings and scores; ask players what helps them enjoy a game.

1. LxD Cycle Process

Empathize: A game maker needs a clear way to represent player settings and progress. A player may want reduced motion or a slower preview.

Define:

POV: New makers need to trace each state change so a checkpoint and a live score do not get confused.
Learning goal: Choose types, initialize meaningful variables and explain assignment order.

Ideate:

HMW: How might a player see exactly what changed after earning a bonus?
Activity: Predict the star counter, playtest it, then compare the stored and updated totals.

Prototype & Test: Build the examples below. Ask a peer to explain the checkpoint and suggest one useful setting. Revise from their actual feedback.

2. Lesson Plan

Objective: Model a UESL game’s state with variables and assignments.

Success criteria: Choose a suitable type, trace reassignment, and explain why a stored total must be recalculated.

Tech Talk · 3 minutes

A variable names a current value. game_title names text; level_one_stars names a count. Python names are case-sensitive, cannot begin with a digit, and cannot be keywords. Choose names that explain their purpose.

Evaluate the right side first, then assign the result to the left. stars = stars + 5 needs an initial value. Each assignment replaces the previous value; a total is a stored result, not a live formula. Python names can later refer to another type, but keeping a consistent purpose makes code clearer.

From College Board: Topic 3.1 covers representing values, choosing meaningful names/types, and tracing the latest assignment (AAP-1.A/B, pp. 63–64). The AP assignment arrow is ←; = tests equality.

3. Reference Guide

Game-maker data	Python type/example	Why this type?
Game name or player tag	`str`: `"Star Trail"`, `"007"`	Text keeps letters and leading zeros.
Collected stars	`int`: `10`	Count whole items.
Preview speed multiplier	`float`: `0.75`	Allow a fractional speed.
Reduced-motion setting	`bool`: `True`	A true/false choice.
Multiple level scores	`list`: `[10, 20, 15]`	A collection, introduced in 3.2.

Initialization gives a name its first value; reassignment replaces it. Python needs no separate typed declaration. "10" is text, while 10 is numeric: Python input() returns text, so int("10") + 5 gives 15 (Python input() documentation).

Operation	Python	College Board pseudocode
Initialize	`stars = 10`	`stars ← 10`
Update	`stars = stars + 5`	`stars ← stars + 5`
Compare	`stars == 10`	`stars = 10`
Display	`print(stars)`	`DISPLAY(stars)`

AP uses Boolean values true/false; the OCS runner spells them TRUE/FALSE. College Board’s DISPLAY adds a space; this runner displays each call on a new line. Our paired examples print the same values in the same order without nonstandard text-plus-number expressions.

4. Code Examples

Playtest controls: In C and Popcorn, select Python or Pseudocode to load the matching program. Pseudocode comments explain each line. Edits stay while switching; Save keeps the current code and language after reload. The trash button restores the Python starter. Changing one version does not translate your edits into the other.

A. Simple · Set up a player profile

game_title = "UESL Star Trail"
player_tag = "007"
preview_speed = 0.75
reduced_motion = True
print(game_title)
print(player_tag)
print(preview_speed)
print(reduced_motion)

Output: UESL Star Trail, 007, 0.75, True. These are configuration values; applying them to a game would require connecting them to its controls.

B. Intermediate · Preserve a checkpoint

stars = 10
checkpoint_stars = stars
stars = stars + 5
checkpoint_stars = checkpoint_stars + 2
print(stars)
print(checkpoint_stars)

Output: 15, then 12. Both started at 10, then changed independently. A checkpoint stores the value at the moment of assignment.

C. Complex · Playtest a star bonus

Predict the original, stored and recalculated totals. Then change the bonus from 5 to 0.

Code Runner Challenge

UESL 3.1 - Playtest the star counter

View IPYNB Source

# CODE_RUNNER: UESL 3.1 - Playtest the star counter
game_title = "UESL Star Trail"
level_one_stars = 10
level_two_stars = 20
level_three_stars = 15
total_stars = level_one_stars + level_two_stars + level_three_stars
print(game_title)
print(total_stars)
level_two_stars = level_two_stars + 5
print(total_stars)
total_stars = level_one_stars + level_two_stars + level_three_stars
print(total_stars)

Lines: 1 Characters: 0

Output

Click "Run" in code control panel to see output ...

Both versions output: UESL Star Trail, 45, 45, 50.

Star-counter snapshot	Before bonus	After bonus, before recalculation	After recalculation
Second level	20	25	25
Stored total	45	45	50

5. Hacks & Practice Tasks

Create your homework page

In your portfolio repository, create navigation/homework/3-1.md; create the folders if needed.

Paste this frontmatter at the top, replacing your-github-id:

---
layout: post
title: UESL 3.1 Homework
author: your-github-id
permalink: /homework/3-1/
---

Add ## Popcorn, ## MCQ, ## Homework, ## Tests and ## Design Thinking. Copy the Popcorn example and adapt Example C. Format your work like this:
```
```python
# Your UESL prototype goes here.
```
Prediction: ...
Actual output: ...
```
Run your Python solution in the lesson or your class editor. Markdown code fences display code; they do not execute it. Record both required tests and explain the result.
Preview, commit and push. Open your published /homework/3-1/ page and submit its full URL through the assignment form below. Include MCQ 3.1: __/4 | answers: __,__,__,__ in the notes.

Submission rules: Initialize every test, identify the code language, include actual output, and verify your published link opens. Keep private player information out of examples.

Popcorn Hack · Checkpoint challenge

Two minutes: Predict the live stars and checkpoint stars. Run, then explain why they differ.

Code Runner Challenge

UESL 3.1 Popcorn - Keep the checkpoint

View IPYNB Source

# CODE_RUNNER: UESL 3.1 Popcorn - Keep the checkpoint
stars = 8
checkpoint_stars = stars
stars = stars + 4
print(stars)
print(checkpoint_stars)

Lines: 1 Characters: 0

Output

Click "Run" in code control panel to see output ...

Checkpoint debrief · reveal after predicting

Both versions display 12, then 8. The checkpoint holds the earlier value.

MCQ Check · Maker decisions

Record A, B or C for each before revealing the key.

A player tag is "007". Best type? A integer · B string · C Boolean.
After stars ← 8, checkpoint ← stars, stars ← 12, what is checkpoint? A 8 · B 12 · C 20.
Which AP operator assigns a value? A = · B == · C ←.
A bonus changes a level’s stars. When does a previously stored total change? A Automatically · B When reassigned/recalculated · C When displayed.

MCQ answers and explanations

B, A, C, B. Text preserves 007; the checkpoint copied 8; the arrow assigns; displaying a total does not recalculate it. Count one point per correct answer and record your actual score out of 4.

Homework Hack · Build your UESL star counter

Choose a game name and a reduced-motion Boolean setting. Use separate level-star variables starting at 12, 18, 10; print the name, setting and total.
Add a bonus of 5 to level two. Print the stored total, then recalculate and print it again.
Record predictions and actual results: original/stored total 40, updated total 45. Restart with bonus 0; all three totals should be 40.
Design-thinking note: Name a player’s need, your goal, a setting/representation you considered, the prototype you built, and one test or revision. Explain why reduced motion should be a player choice.

Next mission: 3.2 replaces separate level variables with a collection. What would 100 separate variables cost a game maker to maintain?

6. Grading Plan (1 Point Total)

Part	Points	Evidence
Popcorn	0.2	Prediction, working code and checkpoint explanation.
MCQ	0.2	0.05 per correct answer; record answers and score.
Homework	0.3	Suitable names/types and correct bonus/recalculation.
Tests	0.2	Both bonus cases and actual output explained.
Design thinking	0.1	Player need, choices, prototype and test/revision.

Quick validation: All sections present; fresh starting values; totals match; explain assignment versus comparison; published link opens.

7. Lesson Revisions & Feedback Evidence

Feedback received: The previous runner PR was too broad for this lesson contribution.
Revision made: Kept the changes in the two lesson pages; reused OCS runners and styles, added UESL examples and the seven-stage lesson structure.
Peer playtest: Pending. Record reviewer → confusion or access need → revision → actual retest result. Do not invent player feedback.

References

College Board, AP CSP Course and Exam Description, Topic 3.1, printed pp. 63–64; AAP-1.A/B: curriculum scope.
College Board, 2026 AP CSP Exam Reference Sheet, printed p. 1: assignment, display and equality.
Python documentation: introduction: assignment, numbers, text and lists.
UESL Foundation and our UESL Game Maker project: community context and game-making workflow.
OCS CSA 1.2: seven-stage lesson format. Examples here use CSP Python and pseudocode, not Java’s type rules.

Credits: Adapted by Adhvay Iyer, Ishan Shrivastava, and Rohan Chandra; based on John Mortensen’s original variables lesson.

Submit: Published homework URL, Popcorn, MCQ answers/score, both tests and your design-thinking note. Python uses the existing OCS execution service; if it is unavailable, retry or use your class editor. Pseudocode runs in the page.

Need to update a submission later? Open the submissions dashboard.