Computer Lab Project

The Suspiciously Emotional Space Pet

Care for an alien pet that may be hungry, tired, delighted, or deeply suspicious of the snack button.

Program: Scratch & Game Design
Project type: Computer Lab Project
Difficulty: Builder
Estimated time: 60-90 minutes

Visible system / hidden curriculum

Build something clear enough to test.

What students build

At least two changing needs
Actions that affect those needs
Visible mood or state
Time-based change
A recovery path
A reset and demonstration state

What students learn

Variables as memory
Initialization
Connected state changes
Threshold decisions
Balancing systems
Explaining emergent behaviour

What students need

Browser
Scratch editor
Keyboard or mouse
Student-created pet design

This Lab project supports several correct models. Students choose names, scales, and rules, then explain the consequences.

Computer Lab character

Mission, constraints, and several correct solutions.

This is not a complete teacher-led recipe. Students choose an implementation path, use checkpoints, test the system, and explain the decisions.

Required systems

What must exist.

At least two changing needs
Actions that affect those needs
Visible mood or state
Time-based change
A recovery path
A reset and demonstration state

Suggested build order

One useful route through the problem.

Choose the needs Define two or three values the pet must remember.
Create care actions Connect buttons or keys to feeding, resting, or playing.
Let time matter Change at least one need at a controlled interval.
Show the state Use expressions, messages, or animation to reveal thresholds.
Test difficult combinations Try low energy, high hunger, and competing care actions.

Checkpoints

Evidence that the system is becoming reliable.

1Each variable has a name and starting value.
2Each action changes the intended values once.
3The change is slow enough to observe and test.
4A parent can tell why the pet looks different.
5The pet always has a recoverable state.

Challenge cards

Change the lesson idea without repeating its first form.

Choose one card, combine compatible cards, or propose an equivalent challenge. More than one implementation can satisfy the mission.

CHALLENGE 1

Add a trust variable.

CHALLENGE 2

Make actions have trade-offs.

CHALLENGE 3

Create a day/night state.

CHALLENGE 4

Add a short care history.

Test it

Try the edges, not only the easy success.

Do all needs reset?
Can one click update twice?
Can values leave the intended range?
Does the visible mood match the values?
Can the pet recover from its lowest state?

Common mistakes

Read the clues before changing code.

Needs are never initialized.
Two scripts fight over the same state.
Values move too quickly to understand.
The pet becomes permanently stuck.

Improve it

Preserve the core system while changing the project.

Add a trust variable.
Make actions have trade-offs.
Create a day/night state.
Add a short care history.

Challenge levels

Choose meaningful difficulty.

LEVEL 1

Builder

Keep two needs inside sensible boundaries.

LEVEL 2

Inventor

Make care actions affect several needs differently.

LEVEL 3

Boss Level

Create named pet states from combinations of values.

Show-teacher checkpoint

Demonstrate the working decisions.

Known starting values
Two care actions
Time-based change
A visible state
A recovery path
One explained rule trade-off