World 3 / Quest 12

Coins, Keys & Doors

Something to collect. Something to unlock. Somewhere to go.

You’ll learn

• Collectibles and why players love them
• Locks and keys — the oldest puzzle in games
• A HUD: showing the player what matters
• A goal: how a level ends

Briefing

Start prompt

Steps

1. 1

   Coins

   Scatter coins across the level (your pickup art, or yellow circles). Touching one: it disappears, coin count goes up, coin sound plays. Ask for them placed in interesting spots — in the air over a gap, on top of a high platform — not just on the ground.

   Say this to Coach

   Add 10 coins across the level in interesting spots — some over gaps, some on high platforms. Touching a coin removes it, adds 1 to my coin count, and plays my coin sound. Show the coin count in the top-right.

   Copy
2. 2

   The HUD

   Look at the corners of your screen. Lives top-left, coins top-right. Ask Coach to make them clear and matching (same font, same size). A HUD that's messy makes the whole game feel messy.

   Say this to Coach

   Make the HUD clean: hearts top-left, coin icon and count top-right, same font and size, with a little padding from the edges. It should stay in place when the camera scrolls.

   Copy
3. 3

   The key

   One key, somewhere hard to reach — behind the enemy, above the spikes, at the end of a tricky jump. Touching it: it disappears, a key icon appears in the HUD, a power-up sound plays.

   Say this to Coach

   Add one key in a hard-to-reach spot: on the highest platform, just past the enemy. When I touch it, it disappears, a key icon shows up in the HUD next to the coins, and my power-up sound plays.

   Copy
4. 4

   The locked door

   A door at the far right end of the level. Without the key: touching it does nothing (maybe a locked sound — try a low 'bonk' from your Sound Lab). With the key: the door opens and the level is complete.

   Say this to Coach

   Add a door at the far right of the level. If I touch it without the key, play a low bonk sound and nothing else. If I have the key, the door opens and show 'LEVEL COMPLETE' with my coin count. Freeze the game while it shows.

   Copy
5. 5

   Blind-Spot Finder

   Before you finish: the two questions. What are you forgetting that platformer levels usually have? What would make this more fun? Common answers: a coin counter that shows out of how many, an arrow pointing to the door, a checkpoint flag halfway. Pick one and build it.

   Say this to Coach

   Before we finish: what am I forgetting that platformer levels usually have? And what's one thing that would make this level more fun? Short list, then I'll pick one.

   Copy
6. 6

   Checkpoint

   Play the whole level start to finish — coins, key, door. Then checkpoint 'level-one'. Next quest, you become a level designer and build two more.

   Say this to Coach

   I played it start to finish. Save a checkpoint called 'level-one'.

   Copy

Side quests +10 XP each

Stuck?

• Coin count jumps by 2 or 3 per coin? Say what you see — the coin is probably being touched several times before it disappears.
• HUD scrolls away with the camera? "Keep the HUD fixed to the screen, not the level."
• Door opens without the key? "I expected the door to stay locked without the key, but it opened."

More ways to get unstuck