Day 6 (May 21, 2015)

Man oh man, it has been a long time since we were last together. Today we will begin Video Game Madness!

Activity 1 - CS First

Continue to work on the CS First at your own pace!

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login


Follow along with the videos, they have all the directions you need to complete today's activity.

Activity 2 - Brainstorming and Meet Up

Continue Brainstorming!  Below is list of the types of games that CS First has or will be teaching us to make. You are not limited to these types of games but these types of games are often the foundation for others (plus they will be easier to make since we have learned how.)

CS First Topic:
Racing Games ------------- An example of a real racing game would be Drive Club
Maze Games  -------------- An example of a real maze game would be Amnesia or Pac Man
Platform Games ----------- An example of a real platform game would be Mario or Limbo
Escape Games ------------- An example of a real escape game would be Slender
Launcher Games ---------- An example of a real launcher game would be Angry Birds
Falling Objects Game ---- An example of a falling objects game would be Tetris
Cave Surfing Games ----- An example of a cave surfing game would be Badland

When your group is ready! Set up a meeting with me to discuss your plans for your game, the items you need to code, places to gather resources and other fun stuff.

By the end of today you must have the following entries in VGD notebook.

• Summary of your game in one sentence
• Components of the game (are there stages, what sprites to you need, background, etc.)
• Story or Purpose 
• What type of things do you think you will have to code? (ex. walking, jumping, jumpscares, etc.)
• Concept Art of characters, backgrounds, menus, etc.

Day 5 (April 30, 2015)

Welcome to Day 5! Today we will continue to learn about If-Then statements and their effects on computer code.

Activity 1 - 

If you completed Day 3  on CS First then you will complete Day 4 today. If you completed Day 4  on CS first then you will complete Day 3 today.

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login

Follow along with the videos, they have all the directions you need to complete today's activity. 

Activity 2

Today you're going to build a "Launcher Game." You may have played other games that launch a character, for example, "Angry Birds." The Launcher Game, features a player who is launched through a sea of enemies. When the player touches the finish line, a new enemy appears. This game introduces cloning in Scratch, as well as a game development concept: increasing difficulty.

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login

Follow along with the videos, they have all the directions you need to complete today's activity. 

Activity 3 - Exploring Scratch

Modding on Scratch! Video game designers will often look to games that have already been created for inspiration. Scratch has a fantastic feature that allows us to look at how people have coded their game to help us learn how to do more complex tasks.

Follow the directions below to complete this activity. Write down any unique code you find and what it does. You never know where you find a discovery that will help you creat your fantastic game.

1. Find a game on Scratch that you really enjoy play.

2. Press the button that says REMIX in the top right corner.

3. Now you should see the code that makes the game. Try changing the code and see what affect it has on the game. Remember to record your observations.

Activity 4 - Working on your Game

Continue Brainstorming!  Below is list of the types of games that CS First has or will be teaching us to make. You are not limited to these types of games but these types of games are often the foundation for others (plus they will be easier to make since we have learned how.)

CS First Topic:
Racing Games ------------- An example of a real racing game would be Drive Club
Maze Games  -------------- An example of a real maze game would be Amnesia or Pac Man
Platform Games ----------- An example of a real platform game would be Mario or Limbo
Escape Games ------------- An example of a real escape game would be Slender
Launcher Games ---------- An example of a real launcher game would be Angry Birds
Falling Objects Game ---- An example of a falling objects game would be Tetris

Cave Surfing Games ----- An example of a cave surfing game would be Badland

Day 4 (April 16, 2015)

Welcome to Day 4! Today we will continue to learn about If-Then statements and their effects on computer code.

If you completed Day 3 last week on CS First then you will complete Day 4 today. If you completed Day 4 last week on CS first then you will complete Day 3 today.

Don't forget to check out our showcase of the week!

Activity 1

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login 

Follow along with the videos, they have all the directions you need to complete today's activity. 

Activity 2

Modding on Scratch! Video game designers will often look to games that have already been created for inspiration. Scratch has a fantastic feature that allows us to look at how people have coded their game to help us learn how to do more complex tasks.

Follow the directions below to complete this activity. Write down any unique code you find and what it does. You never know where you find a discovery that will help you creat your fantastic game.

1. Find a game on Scratch that you really enjoy play.

2. Press the button that says REMIX in the top right corner.

3. Now you should see the code that makes the game. Try changing the code and see what affect it has on the game. Remember to record your observations.

Activity 3

Brainstorming! Begin creating a list of ideas that you have for games. Below is list of the types of games that CS First has or will be teaching us to make. You are not limited to these types of games but these types of games are often the foundation for others (plus they will be easier to make since we have learned how.)

CS First Topic:
Racing Games ------------- An example of a real racing game would be Drive Club
Maze Games  -------------- An example of a real maze game would be Amnesia or Pac Man
Platform Games ----------- An example of a real platform game would be Mario or Limbo
Escape Games ------------- An example of a real escape game would be Slender 
Launcher Games ---------- An example of a real launcher game would be Angry Birds
Falling Objects Game ---- An example of a falling objects game would be Tetris
Cave Surfing Games ----- An example of a cave surfing game would be Badland

Day 3 (April 8, 2015)

Whoo! We have made to Day 3! Today is an action packed day - we are going to do two CS First activities in one day!

Game Design Concept: If-Then Statements

Read the statement below:
Think of game or video game that uses boundaries or walls to control where a player can go. [for example football, Pac-man, the Legend of Zelda, etc.] In today's games, and in most video games, If-Then statements are used to create these boundaries. These if-then statements are programmed to read: "If a player is touching the boundary, do something, like deduct a point, or stop them. Think of If-Then statements as cause and effect statements (or like a hypothesis in science class!):

• If I fall down, then I will hurt myself.
• If I give a plant more water, then it will increase in height.

Answer the question below in your VGD Notebook.

1. Explain If-Then statements in your own words.

Activity 1  

We will be learning to make to make two types of games this week: a maze style game and a platform game.

Activity 2 

Play a game on Scratch and complete the Game Design worksheet in your VGD Notebook.

Day 2 (March 19, 2015)

Welcome to Day 2! You will need the following materials to be successful today: your Official VGD Notebook, CS-First Passport and a pen.

Game Design: Events

Read the statement below:

In this activity, you're going to create a racetrack game in Scratch. This game will teach you how to code events and motions. Events are a really important computer science and gaming concept.  In most games, you use button presses on a controller or keyboard to move a character. These button presses are all programmed using events. Events are a computer's way of handling an action, like a button press.

Answer the question below in your VGD Notebook.

1. Explain events in your own words.
2. Imagine your favorite video game character, what do you have to do to move that character?

Activity 1

For an example of a game you will be creating today, check out the Project Showcase to the right. I only coded one sprite to move (it wouldn't be any fun playing the game by myself). Move the elephant using the the arrow keys on the keyboard.

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login 

Follow along with the videos, they have all the directions you need to complete today's activity. If you get lost at any point you have two options:

Option 1

Check out the hint sheet:

Option 2

Follow the directions below:

Part 1 

1. Sign in with the username and password from your club pass.
2. Start watching the first video.

Part 2

1. Create an event for the three arrow key presses.
2. Add a "move" block to each arrow keypress event.
3. Program the sprite to turn left when the left arrow is pressed.

Part 3

1. Use a "repeat until" block for each of your events to make your sprite move smoothly across your track.

Part 4

1. Customize your project by doing some of the add-ons.
2. Once you finish one add-on, pick another one to try, or create something new for your project on your own.

Part 5

1. Click the "Share" button in Scratch.
2. Show your project to a neighbor!
3. Complete the CS First Reflection.
4. Watch the Wrap Up Video.

Day 1 (March 12, 2015)

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to our very first day together! Below you will find the instructions for today and a list of the supplies you will need!

Materials for today: Official VGD Notebook, CS-First Passport and a pen

Game Design 101

Read the statement below:

Games are are made to played (duh!) But to make a great game we have to understand the elements of game design - the basics that game designers think about when they are making their game. There are many elements of game design but we will be focusing on five simple ones: rules, goals, space, mechanics, and components.

Answer the question below in your VGD Notebook.

1. What are the five elements of game design? (Complete sentence)

Activity 1
Let’s break down Rock‐Paper‐Scissors using these elements:

• Space: the space of Rock‐Paper‐Scissors is a close, but not intimate, area between two players. 
• Components (the pieces of the game): the hand symbols for rock, paper, and scissors; two players. 
• Mechanics (what you do in the game): a player “throws” a hand symbol into the game space. 
• Rules (the parameters of gameplay): 
• One hand symbol beats another and the player who threw the winning symbol gets a point. 
• Paper beats rock. Rock beats scissors. Scissors beats paper. 
• Players throw the hand symbols at the same time (often after counting to 3). 
• Players cannot change a hand symbol once it’s thrown, and the symbol must be in both player’s lines of sight. 
• Goals: A player wins a round by throwing a winning hand symbol. Another common goal is to win 2 out of 3 rounds. 
• Goals: A player wins a round by throwing a winning hand symbol. Another common goal is to win 2 out of 3 rounds.

Your job....

With a group of 2 or 3 people change one of the elements like the example we completed together. 

1. Pick an element of game design to change in rock, paper, scissors.
2. After you have made a change, play two or three rounds of rock, paper, scissors.
3. Follow the directions below to complete a quick-write in you VGD  Notebook.

In your notebook state which element of game design you changed and how. Then write about how this change affected the game.

Activity 2

Go to CS First using this link: http://www.cs-first.com/user/login

Part 1

1. Sign in using the username and password found in your CS-First Passport.
2. Watch the first video that introduces the survey.
3. Complete the survey.
4. Close the survey tab, and click the green arrow to begin watching the next video.

Part 2 

1. Watch Video 2 to learn about what you will build in this club.
2. Click the Scratch link.
3. Sign in using the same username and password from your passport.
4. Click "Create."
5. Switch back to cs-first.com and watch the next video.

Part 3 

1. Watch Video 3 and create your first Scratch project!
2. Complete Wrap Up when instructed.

In your notebook answer the following the questions:

• What was your favorite part of this activity?
• What "unexpected thing" did you program?

Welcome to the Video Game Design Club!

Welcome to the first ever video game design club at SIS! We will meet every Thursday from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

In this blog, you will find our agenda and directions for the day will posted at this blog (meaning that even if you are absent you will still able to participate!)

Throughout this club, you will be learning how to use Scratch to build games and ultimately design your own game. At the end of the after school in June we will be participating in a symposium to show off all of our hard work. As part of your participation in club you will be keeping "Game Design Notebook." This notebook will be your "go to" tool for all your ideas, drawings, stories, etc.