This week in BTE1522, we focused on troubleshooting the Slider Game code as part of our hands-on approach to learning Python programming. Over the past four weeks, students had completed Steps 1 through 7 of the game development process — from designing a simple game window to implementing the “Game Over” condition.
In Week 5, we shifted our focus from building to refining.
Troubleshooting Score Logic
The session began with a debugging challenge: fixing the issue where the score kept increasing continuously whenever the player collided with the enemy. The expected behavior was that the score should increase by only 1 per collision. This led to an exploration of Boolean flags (such as collosion = False) and control logic — helping students understand how to track and limit events in game logic using conditional statements.
Implementing Countdown Timer
Next, students were challenged to modify the game’s default up-counting timer into a countdown timer. This exercise required them to revisit Python functions and logic structures. They learned how to set and decrease a timer, as well as how to trigger the “Game Over” condition when time reaches zero.
Debugging as a Learning Tool
Troubleshooting is a vital part of programming, and through this session, students experienced how debugging helps deepen understanding of syntax, logic flow, and structure in Python. Debugging isn’t just about fixing errors — it’s about making your code smarter and your logic stronger.
This week’s activity reinforced the idea that learning to program by building and breaking things — then fixing them — is one of the most effective ways to understand a programming language. Students left the class not just with working code, but with improved problem-solving skills and a stronger foundation in Python.
