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Week 10: Become a Game Designer!

Unit: Creative Computing (Weeks 9-11)

What’s in Store This Week?

Have you ever dreamed of creating your own video game? This week, that dream comes true! You’ll become a game designer, learning the secret ingredients that make games fun and exciting. First, we’ll be “game detectives,” analyzing our favorite games to figure out what makes them so great. Then, you’ll use your findings to design and program your very own simple, playable game. Get ready to turn your ideas into an interactive adventure that your friends can actually play!

What You’ll Be Able to Do!

By the end of this week, you’ll be able to:

  • Explain the basic “ingredients” of a fun game (like goals, rules, and challenges).
  • Plan your own simple game idea from start to finish.
  • Use your coding skills to build a basic game with a clear objective.
  • Create a game that is fun and easy for other people to play!

Lessons This Week

Lesson 10.1: The Secret Ingredients of a Fun Game

Get Ready To: Become a game analyst! We’ll take a close look at our favorite games to uncover the secrets of what makes them fun. Then you’ll brainstorm and design your own unique game concept.

Lesson 10.2: Build Your First Playable Game!

Get Ready To: Open your own game development studio! You’ll take your game design from the drawing board and bring it to life with code, creating a simple but complete game you can share.

How We’ll See Our Skills Grow

  • Game Design Docs: Your game design plan will show us how you can think like a real game designer.
  • The Playability Test: The ultimate test is your finished game! Is it fun? Does it work? Can a friend understand how to play it?
  • From Idea to Reality: Finishing your own game from start to finish will be a huge accomplishment that showcases all your amazing skills.

Connecting to Other Subjects

  • Art & Design: You’ll design the look and feel of your game, from the characters to the background.
  • Physical Education: You’ll think about what makes any game (sports or video games) fair, challenging, and fun.
  • Creative Writing: You’ll create a world and a story for your game, no matter how simple!

Your Game Designer’s Toolkit

  • A few simple board games or card games to help us analyze “game mechanics”
  • Special worksheets to help you design your own game concept
  • Your trusty device with Scratch Jr.
  • Feedback forms for when we “play-test” each other’s games

Assessment Highlights

  • Formative: Game analysis quality, design thinking application
  • Performance: Game creation and programming implementation
  • Summative: Complete working game with clear objectives and user interaction

Cross-Curricular Connections

  • Math: Logic, problem-solving, and systematic thinking
  • Art: Visual design and user interface principles
  • Physical Education: Understanding of games, rules, and fair play
  • Social Studies: Game theory and decision-making processes

Design Thinking Process

  • Empathy: Understanding what players enjoy and find engaging
  • Define: Identifying game goals and core challenges
  • Ideate: Brainstorming creative and innovative solutions
  • Prototype: Planning and creating testable game versions
  • Test: Gathering feedback and iterating for improvement

Game Development Skills

  • Breaking complex projects into manageable components
  • Iterative development and continuous improvement
  • User testing and quality assurance processes
  • Creative problem-solving within technical constraints

Materials Needed

  • Collection of simple games for analysis
  • Game design planning templates and worksheets
  • Devices with Scratch Jr. for programming
  • Game testing feedback forms
  • Simple props for game mechanics demonstration
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