Scratch & Game Design
Guided Project
Escape from the Giant Pigeon
Build a fast chase game with known positions, collision rules, win and loss states, and reliable restart behaviour.
See how it worksProgram / Scratch & Game Design
Make a game, then get the rules under control.
Scratch lets students make something move before syntax has had a chance to ruin the afternoon. The blocks are approachable; the decisions behind them are real programming.
Topic path
From the first event to a complete game system.
Start with the available guides and lessons. The remaining topics show how the program can grow.
- Events and CommandsGuide and lesson
- Coordinates and MovementGuide, lesson, and projects
- Loops and RepetitionGuide and lesson
- Conditions and DecisionsGuide and lesson
- Variables and ScoreGuide and lesson
- Sensing and CollisionGuide and lesson
- Messages and CommunicationComing later
- Randomness and VariationComing later
- Custom Blocks and FunctionsComing later
- Game StateConnected through Variables and State
- DebuggingGuide and lesson
- Final Game DesignComing later
Follow one idea all the way through
Coordinates and Movement
Start with the coordinate guide, use it in a lesson, then watch the same idea return in three very different games.
Lesson / 90 minutes
How Does the Screen Know Where You Are?
Read, predict, move, test, modify, and explain x and y.
Guided Project
Escape from the Giant Pigeon
Beginner / Builder / 45-70 minutes
Computer Lab Project
Grandma's Intergalactic Taxi
Builder / 45-90 minutes
Computer Lab Project
Astro-Chicken Rescue
Builder / Inventor / 45-90 minutes
Class format
A serious lesson can wear a ridiculous costume.
The funny premise earns attention. The class makes the system visible underneath it.
- 01Meet the ideaName one concept with a small example.
- 02Predict and testSay what the code should do, then run it.
- 03Build togetherUse the idea in a guided project.
- 04Change the systemAdd a rule, repair a bug, or rebuild a weak part.
- 05DemonstrateShow what changed and explain the evidence.
Eight Scratch projects
Games, stories, simulations, and systems.
Scratch & Game Design
Guided Project
Attack of the Angry Snowballs
Defend a mug of cocoa from falling snowballs. Each wave gets faster, and winter becomes less reasonable.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Computer Lab Project
The Suspiciously Emotional Space Pet
Create a virtual pet with needs that change over time and actions that affect more than one value.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Guided Project
The Floor Is Definitely Lava
Build a one-room platform game with a controlled jump, safe platforms, lava, and a clean restart.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Guided Project
Robot Hamster Command Centre
Send movement commands to a robot hamster as it crosses a small security map.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Guided Project
Quiz of Questionable Knowledge
Build a quiz that checks answers, gives useful feedback, keeps score, and knows which question comes next.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Computer Lab Project
Grandma's Intergalactic Taxi
Navigate a space taxi between coordinate-based pickups and destinations.
See how it works
Scratch & Game Design
Computer Lab Project
Astro-Chicken Rescue
Track several drifting chickens, collect them once each, and stay out of the danger zones.
See how it worksComputer Lab connection
Take the class project somewhere else.
Once a guided game works, Computer Lab time can go into another level, different controls, an awkward edge case, or a new version built from the same idea.
How Computer Lab time worksA finished game gives the conversation somewhere to start.
A student can point to a rule, show a bug, explain a variable, and demonstrate why the latest version behaves differently from the first.
More answers for parentsAsk about a Scratch starting point.
Contact Eugene for current scheduling and a suitable starting point.