Learning Objectives
By the end of this lab, you will be able to: - Navigate the Godot editor: the viewport, Scene dock, FileSystem dock, Inspector, and bottom panels. - Explain what a node is and how nodes form a tree to create game objects. - Create, save, and instance a reusable scene. - Attach a script to a node and run the project.
Overview
This lab orients you inside the Godot editor and introduces the single most important idea in the engine: everything is a node, and nodes are arranged in a tree to build scenes. You’ll build a simple scene by hand, save it as its own file, and then instance it — placing multiple copies in another scene. Understanding scenes and instancing now pays off in every later lab, because reusable, self-contained scenes are how well-organized Godot projects are built.
Steps
- Tour the editor layout and dock a couple of panels to get comfortable.
- Create a root node and add child nodes to form a small tree.
- Save the node tree as a scene (
.tscn) file. - Instance that saved scene inside a second scene to see reuse in action.
- Attach a GDScript file to a node, print to the Output panel, and run the project.
Key Concepts
- Nodes, the scene tree, and parent/child relationships.
- Scenes as reusable, saved node trees (
.tscn). - Instancing a scene multiple times.
- Attaching a script and the
_ready()function.
Deliverable / Completion Check
A project containing at least one saved scene that is instanced at least twice inside another scene, with a script that prints to the Output panel on run. Submit a screenshot showing the instanced scenes and console output.