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07b621 lisa 2026-06-08 12:58:03
C05-3: add the three thinking-step pages plus a Godot creative-thinking page - Shoulders of Giants (Step 1), Connect the Dots (Step 2, rebuilt with a Godot double-jump trace), Plan B Ready (Step 3) — all game/Godot-flavoured, scaffold-faithful - Creative Thinking for Your Godot Project — seven optional moves (diverge, grey-box prototype, remix, constraints, game feel, ecosystem remix, document pivots) to generate creative-thinking evidence - Added C5-3 section to the home index Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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> **DRAFT** — under teacher review.
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# Shoulders of Giants
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The Hamilton and Alexandra College · Year 12 · 2026
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> *"Identifies existing and possible solutions to inform design ideas."*
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Great designers rarely start from a blank screen. Before you sketch your first UI or write your first script, you study what's already out there — games and tools that solved a similar problem — and you let those solutions shape your thinking. This is C5-3 Step 1, and it's one of the fastest ways to lift the quality of your design work.
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---
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## Why look at existing solutions?
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Every game released on itch.io, every open-source Godot project on GitHub, every polished mobile app represents thousands of hours of design decisions — many of them hard-won. When you examine them carefully, you borrow the lessons without repeating the mistakes.
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The study design asks you to identify **existing** solutions (things already built) **and possible** solutions (approaches that could work, even if no one has built exactly what you need yet). Both matter. A solution doesn't have to be popular to be useful — it just has to be relevant to the problem your SRS describes.
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> [!NOTE]
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> Aim for at least 2–3 solutions. A mix of sources gives you stronger evidence: commercial games, open-source Godot projects, student examples, or competitor apps your client already uses.
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---
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## What counts as an existing solution?
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For a Godot game project, look at:
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- **Published games** — especially ones in your genre. Play them and take notes, not just screenshots.
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- **Open-source Godot games** — search GitHub for Godot projects similar to yours. You can read the actual code and scene structure.
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- **itch.io game jams** — a goldmine of small, focused games that solved one design problem well.
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- **Game tools and engines** — if your SRS mentions a specific mechanic (inventory, dialogue trees, tile maps), look at how existing Godot plugins or other engines approach it.
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- **Partial matches** — a game that shares only one relevant feature still counts. You don't need a perfect clone of your idea.
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> [!TIP]
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> Possible solutions include approaches you haven't seen implemented yet — for example, "a card-based level select that doesn't exist in my genre but would suit my players." Identifying a possible solution and explaining why it fits your SRS is strong analytical thinking.
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---
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## Analyse each solution in a table
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Don't just list the games you looked at. Break each one down:
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| Solution | What it does well | What it does poorly | How it relates to my problem (SRS link) |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Celeste (Maddy Makes Games) | Clear, readable level-select map; instant restart on death encourages retry | No in-game hint system for stuck players | My SRS requires a level-select screen and a low frustration loop — both addressed here |
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| Open-source Godot platformer (GitHub: example/repo) | Clean scene structure; reusable state machine for player movement | No save system; UI is placeholder only | My SRS requires persistent progress — I can see what's missing and plan accordingly |
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| Candy-match mobile game (competitor app client uses) | Card-grid layout scanned quickly by players; satisfying feedback sounds | Heavy monetisation interrupts flow | My SRS calls for a similar scan-friendly layout without ads |
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> [!NOTE]
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> Every cell must be your own analysis, not a copy of a review. If you can't say how the solution relates to your SRS, you haven't finished the analysis.
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---
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## Connect findings to your design
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The table is evidence. The connection is the argument. You must make the link **explicit**:
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> **Worked example:** After studying how *Celeste's* level-select map uses a simple node-and-path layout, and after looking at a card-grid layout in a mobile match game that my client already plays, I decided to use a **card grid** for my level-select screen. A grid lets players scan all available levels at once without scrolling — which suits my SRS requirement that players can jump back to any completed level in under two taps.
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Notice the structure: *"Because [existing solution] does [specific thing], I decided [specific design choice] because it addresses [SRS requirement]."* That's the sentence pattern that gets you to Proficient and beyond.
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---
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## Performance levels
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| Level | What it looks like |
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|---|---|
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| Basic | Names one solution with a brief description |
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| Developing | Describes features of one or two solutions |
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| Proficient | Identifies existing AND possible solutions and uses them to inform design ideas |
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| Strong | Analyses multiple solutions with explicit links from specific findings to specific design choices |
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---
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## Quick checklist
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- [ ] 2–3 solutions identified (mix of existing published games, open-source projects, or other relevant software)
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- [ ] Each solution analysed: strengths, weaknesses, and relevance to your SRS
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- [ ] At least one explicit "because X does Y, I decided Z" connection written out
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- [ ] Both existing products AND at least one possible alternative considered
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- [ ] Table cells contain your own analysis, in your own words — not copied from reviews
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---
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## Check Your Understanding
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**Q1. Why does the study design ask you to identify "possible" solutions, not just popular ones?**
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>| Popular games are designed for large audiences with different needs from your client. A possible solution — even one that doesn't exist yet in your genre — might be a better conceptual fit for your SRS. Considering possible alternatives shows you're thinking about the design space, not just copying what's trending.
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**Q2. What's the difference between "I looked at 3 games" (Developing) and Strong-level evidence?**
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>| At Developing, you describe what the games do. At Strong level, you connect specific findings to specific design decisions: "Because Game X uses a card grid for level select, and my SRS requires players to resume quickly, I adopted a card grid." The explicit link — not the number of games — is what earns the higher band.
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**Q3. Name one good source of existing solutions for a Godot game project.**
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>| Good answers include: itch.io (searchable by genre and engine); GitHub (search "godot" + your mechanic, e.g. "godot inventory system"); open game jams; or commercial games in your genre that you can play and document. Open-source projects are especially useful because you can study the scene and script structure, not just the look.
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---
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## See also
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- [Connect the Dots](/sd/C05/Connect%20the%20Dots)
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- [Plan B Ready](/sd/C05/Plan%20B%20Ready)
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- [Creative Thinking for Your Godot Project](/sd/C05/Creative%20Thinking%20for%20Your%20Godot%20Project)
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- [C05 Resources](/sd/Resources/C05-Resources)
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