The Final Capstone
Plan, Build & Ship a Real Game
Everything from Module 1 to Module 19 exists to build one complete, shipped game. This capstone brief walks you through a design document, folder organization, tying your systems together, testing, and packaging for release.
Write a Game Design Document
Before writing code, define the game on paper. A one-page GDD prevents scope creep and keeps the project finishable:
Organize Assets & Code
Apply Module 18's architecture from day one — retrofitting structure onto a messy prototype later costs far more time than starting clean.
my_game/
main.py
config.py
assets.py
scenes/
menu_scene.py
play_scene.py
game_over_scene.py
entities/
player.py
enemy.py
particle.py
assets/
images/
sounds/
README.mdCode the Core Mechanics — A Starter Scene Skeleton
Combine the Scene pattern (Module 18), sprite groups (Module 6), movement (Module 8) and the event loop (Module 2) into one minimal but complete shell you can build your capstone on top of:
import pygame
from config import SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, FPS, BG_COLOR
class PlayScene:
def __init__(self):
self.all_sprites = pygame.sprite.Group()
self.player = Player((SCREEN_WIDTH//2, SCREEN_HEIGHT//2))
self.all_sprites.add(self.player)
def handle_events(self, events):
for e in events:
if e.type == pygame.KEYDOWN and e.key == pygame.K_SPACE:
self.player.try_dash()
def update(self, dt):
self.all_sprites.update(dt)
def draw(self, screen):
screen.fill(BG_COLOR)
self.all_sprites.draw(screen)
class Player(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, pos):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.Surface((32, 32))
self.image.fill((52, 211, 153))
self.rect = self.image.get_rect(center=pos)
self.vel = pygame.Vector2(0, 0)
def update(self, dt):
keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
direction = pygame.Vector2(
keys[pygame.K_d] - keys[pygame.K_a],
keys[pygame.K_s] - keys[pygame.K_w],
)
if direction.length_squared() > 0:
direction = direction.normalize()
self.vel = direction * 250
self.rect.center += self.vel * dt
def try_dash(self):
pass # Module 8 dash logic goes here
def main():
pygame.init()
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT))
clock = pygame.time.Clock()
scene = PlayScene()
running = True
while running:
dt = clock.tick(FPS) / 1000
events = pygame.event.get()
for e in events:
if e.type == pygame.QUIT:
running = False
scene.handle_events(events)
scene.update(dt)
scene.draw(screen)
pygame.display.flip()
pygame.quit()
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()UI, Sound, Testing & Performance Pass
Layer in the remaining systems in this order: menus and HUD (Module 11), sound effects and music (Module 10), then a dedicated testing pass — play through the entire game start to finish multiple times looking specifically for crashes, softlocks, and unfair difficulty spikes. Finish with a performance pass using Module 19's optimization checklist.
Package & Present Your Portfolio Piece
Package your finished game with PyInstaller (Module 19), then write a short README covering: what the game is, controls, screenshots or a gameplay GIF, and credits for any third-party assets. Upload the build to itch.io or a public GitHub repository — this capstone is now a real portfolio piece you can link from a resume or job application.
Course Complete!
You've gone from a Python refresher to shipping a fully playable, packaged game. Every system in your capstone — movement, collision, animation, AI, sound, UI — is something you built yourself from Modules 1 through 19. That's the real skill: not memorizing an API, but knowing how to combine simple pieces into something players can enjoy.
Your Capstone's Folder Structure
Applying Module 18's architecture to the capstone gives every file a clear, predictable home before you write a single line of gameplay code.