Lesson 6.2: Yes/No Adventure Programming
Welcome back, authors and programmers! You’ve learned how to create stories with simple choices. Now, it’s time to level up and build a truly complex adventure with many branching paths, all powered by your new logic skills.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this master class, you’ll be able to:
- Design a story with multiple choices that lead to different endings.
- Use advanced programming blocks (like message broadcasting) to create different scenes.
- Create an interactive experience that’s easy and fun for your friends to play.
- Plan a big programming project from start to finish.
Your Adventure Creation Plan
Mapping the Adventure (10 minutes)
- Let’s look at the structure of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book again.
- This time, we’ll map it out like a programmer, using a decision tree. This chart will show how every “yes/no” choice creates a new branch of the story.
- It’s your turn to plan! On paper, map out an adventure with at least 3 big decision points.
Advanced Programming Secrets (15 minutes)
- How do you make a story jump from one page to another? We’ll learn the secret of message broadcasting (the orange blocks).
- These blocks let you create different scenes or “pages” for your story and jump between them smoothly.
- We’ll also see how to make characters or backgrounds change to match the story’s path.
Build Your Epic Story! (20 minutes)
- Time to bring your decision tree to life in Scratch Jr.!
- Your main goal is to create a story with at least 3 different choices for the user.
- Make sure your instructions are super clear so the player knows what to do.
- Add cool sounds and visuals to make your story even more exciting!
The “Play-Testing” Phase (5 minutes)
- Let’s test each other’s stories! Swap devices with a partner.
- As a tester, think about: Are the choices clear? Does the story make sense? Is it fun to play?
- As the creator, listen to the feedback and make quick improvements to your adventure.
Your Author’s Toolkit
- Story planning worksheets with a decision tree to map your ideas
- Your device with Scratch Jr.
- A simple feedback form for our play-testing session
How to Become a Master Author
- We’ll look at your decision tree plan. Is it well-organized and easy to follow?
- The Branching Test: Does your final program have at least 3 working choices that lead to different outcomes?
- Is your story fun and easy for another person to play? That’s the sign of a great user experience!
New Tech Words to Master
- Branching: Creating different paths or choices in a program.
- Decision Tree: A map that shows all the possible choices and outcomes in a story or program.
- User Experience (UX): Thinking about how easy and fun your program is for the person playing it.
- Message Broadcasting: A way to send secret messages between your sprites and pages to trigger actions.