# Planning your first project

[Programming guides](README.md)

A project plan is a small description of what you want to make and how you will begin. It is not a promise that you can never change. Its job is to help you take the next useful step.

## Pick one small goal

“Make an adventure game” leaves many questions open. “Make a treasure counter that adds three finds” gives you something you can finish and test.

Write down who the program is for, what it should do, and what you will leave for later. For our counter, drawing an island and adding music can go on a “later” list. A working early version is often called a **prototype**.

## Build the first version

This prototype uses a list of pretend finds, so it runs without a keyboard or a game scene.

```pliro
# language: en
let finds = [2, 1, 3]
let total = 0
for treasure in finds:
    set total = total + treasure
say "Treasure found:", total
```

Each number describes one find. The loop adds it to the total. We have separated the main rule—counting treasure—from the way a player will find treasure in a finished game.

## Predict, then run

What result would show that this version works?

```text
Treasure found: 6
```

That is a **success check**: a clear result you can look for. “It should be fun” is a useful wish, but it does not tell you whether the addition works.

## Your challenge

Plan version two on paper. Choose just one change: more finds, a target to reach, or a message when the total reaches ten. Write an example of its expected output before adding code.

Use this short checklist: save the working version, make one change, run a normal example, try an unusual example, and describe what you learned.

## A common mistake

Adding every new idea immediately can stop you finishing anything. Keep interesting ideas in your “later” list. Save understandable copies such as `treasure-v1.pliro` and `treasure-v2.pliro`; the filename itself does not automatically keep a history.

## Where next?

[Breaking problems into steps](decomposition.md) · [Testing](testing.md) · [Finished apps](source-and-apps.md)