Code Toolkit: Python, Fall 2021

Week 7 — Homework assignment

due: Tues, October 19, 8pm

  1. Review the class notes for this week.

  2. Expand on the in-class example to create a herd of "creatures".

    Start with the code snippet that we ended up with in class that has x, y, size, and color for each square.

    Add at least two more lists that modify how these things appear or behave. You could use these for the x and y direction so that each square has a direction and bounces off walls or each other.

    Can you make this interactive? Try to a mousePressed() block, and inside check if the user has clicked on a creature (maybe use dist()). If so, change some property of that creature so it looks different.

    If you want to get more advanced, you could even think about using timing. Perhaps each time the user clicks on a creature, it only looks different for some amount of time. Hint: create list called something like clickTime. In your check to see if the user has clicked on a creature, instead of drawing it differently, set clickTime to millis(). Then in draw(), include a conditional so that if millis() < clickTime[i] + 1000 then you change the appearance of the creature.

  3. Do something similar to above but start with nothing on the screen, and add one each time the user clicks the mouse or presses a key. Start with the above code or start fresh, but if you are using the above, Save As and rename it as part 2. You would create lists as above, but leave them empty. And then inside the keyPressed() or mousePressed() blocks, you would append() new values to the various lists. And make sure to use len() in your loops when drawing or moving the objects.