Godot GDScript Patterns

Production patterns for Godot 4.x game development with GDScript, covering architecture, signals, scenes, and optimization.

When to Use This Skill

• Building games with Godot 4
• Implementing game systems in GDScript
• Designing scene architecture
• Managing game state
• Optimizing GDScript performance
• Learning Godot best practices

Core Concepts

1. Godot Architecture

Node: Base building block
├── Scene: Reusable node tree (saved as .tscn)
├── Resource: Data container (saved as .tres)
├── Signal: Event communication
└── Group: Node categorization

2. GDScript Basics

class_name Player
extends CharacterBody2D

# Signals
signal health_changed(new_health: int)
signal died

# Exports (Inspector-editable)
@export var speed: float = 200.0
@export var max_health: int = 100
@export_range(0, 1) var damage_reduction: float = 0.0
@export_group("Combat")
@export var attack_damage: int = 10
@export var attack_cooldown: float = 0.5

# Onready (initialized when ready)
@onready var sprite: Sprite2D = $Sprite2D
@onready var animation: AnimationPlayer = $AnimationPlayer
@onready var hitbox: Area2D = $Hitbox

# Private variables (convention: underscore prefix)
var _health: int
var _can_attack: bool = true

func _ready() -> void:
    _health = max_health

func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
    var direction := Input.get_vector("left", "right", "up", "down")
    velocity = direction * speed
    move_and_slide()

func take_damage(amount: int) -> void:
    var actual_damage := int(amount * (1.0 - damage_reduction))
    _health = max(_health - actual_damage, 0)
    health_changed.emit(_health)

    if _health <= 0:
        died.emit()

Patterns

Pattern 1: State Machine

# state_machine.gd
class_name StateMachine
extends Node

signal state_changed(from_state: StringName, to_state: StringName)

@export var initial_state: State

var current_state: State
var states: Dictionary = {}

func _ready() -> void:
    # Register all State children
    for child in get_children():
        if child is State:
            states[child.name] = child
            child.state_machine = self
            child.process_mode = Node.PROCESS_MODE_DISABLED

    # Start initial state
    if initial_state:
        current_state = initial_state
        current_state.process_mode = Node.PROCESS_MODE_INHERIT
        current_state.enter()

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    if current_state:
        current_state.update(delta)

func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
    if current_state:
        current_state.physics_update(delta)

func _unhandled_input(event: InputEvent) -> void:
    if current_state:
        current_state.handle_input(event)

func transition_to(state_name: StringName, msg: Dictionary = {}) -> void:
    if not states.has(state_name):
        push_error("State '%s' not found" % state_name)
        return

    var previous_state := current_state
    previous_state.exit()
    previous_state.process_mode = Node.PROCESS_MODE_DISABLED

    current_state = states[state_name]
    current_state.process_mode = Node.PROCESS_MODE_INHERIT
    current_state.enter(msg)

    state_changed.emit(previous_state.name, current_state.name)

# state.gd
class_name State
extends Node

var state_machine: StateMachine

func enter(_msg: Dictionary = {}) -> void:
    pass

func exit() -> void:
    pass

func update(_delta: float) -> void:
    pass

func physics_update(_delta: float) -> void:
    pass

func handle_input(_event: InputEvent) -> void:
    pass

# player_idle.gd
class_name PlayerIdle
extends State

@export var player: Player

func enter(_msg: Dictionary = {}) -> void:
    player.animation.play("idle")

func physics_update(_delta: float) -> void:
    var direction := Input.get_vector("left", "right"