A prototype is an “early” version of a product. In software development, it helps people to understand how the software will work in the end. It tends to be graphical because a picture is easier to grasp than a long-winded textual description.
Prototypes are also really valuable to help you as the developer clarify your plan.
- Your Greenfoot prototype should be an image of around 640 x 480 pixels, uploaded to your website.
- It should leave no big questions unanswered about how the game/simulation will work.
- For example, if you say “the user will be able to control the car” then you have not been clear enough because you haven’t stated how the car will be controlled.
- Some other things you need to be clear about are:
- How scoring works
- How the game ends
- How actors move
- What keys are used
- How actors enter or exit the game
- How many actors will there be
- What happens when actors hit the edge of the screen
- Your prototype should definitely have text annotations
You do not need to worry about making your prototype look like your final game will look. Prototypes are designed to convey functionality above aesthetics.
A good technique is to break up your prototype into distinct phases. Make the first phase really simple, and if there is some extra functionality that you would like to include but you think might be difficult, then make it part of phase 2.
IB Computer Science 