BLC Pre-Conference Workshop: Let's Play! Game Design with Scratch - Monday, July 15, 2012
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Let's Play! Game Design with Scratch
Building Learning Communities (BLC) Pre-Conference Workshop
Monday, July 15, 2012
1:30am-5:30pm
MIT Media Lab
Hosted by Mitch Resnick and Karen Brennan
Side-scrollers. Quizzes. Mazes. Simulators. Young people are using Scratch to create and share a wide variety of interactive games. In the process, they learn important computational concepts (for example, using variables for keeping score and conditionals for making game decisions), while also developing general problem-solving skills and design capacities. In this hands-on introduction to game design with Scratch, participants were introduced to Scratch, learned to create games, viewed examples of games created by young people and heard how educators are using Scratch for game design.
Players
To contact another participant, click on their name below to leave a comment on their profile.
- Molly Buttitta
- John Egan
- Anne Marie Fries
- Janet Gray-McKennis
- Angelica Guerrero
- Mary Anne Hamilton
- Miguel Marquez
- Larissa Perkins
- Siobain Perkins
- Frank Slabaugh
- Mitch Resnick
- Karen Brennan
- Michelle Chung
Level 0: How to play
Continuing from the morning workshop, we discussed What is Scratch? What is Scratch good for?
- computer programming software
- animation creation software
- outlet for creativity
- express logical thinking
- storytelling
- multimedia
- working collaboratively
- grow problem solving skills
- 21st century learning
- empowering kids to be self-directed learners
Level 1: You game?
What's your favorite game? What makes a game a game? Here are some of the elements of game design that we brainstormed:
- competitive or cooperative
- strategy
- multiplayer or single player
- fun
- skill development
- goals or objectives
Then, Karen shared some example game projects in the genre of games:
Level 2: A-maze-ing
In this activity, the group collectively built maze examples and then brainstormed ways of extending the play. Here are sample projects to help you extend your maze:
- adding score
- adding timer
- adding enemies
- adding rewards
- adding more levels
Level 3: Let’s Play
Participants were then given the option to work on individual Scratch projects or join mini breakout sessions to dive deeper into Scratch:
- pen tool
- variables
- lists
Here are some other helpful resources.
- Scratch cards
- Game builder activities from the Scratch Curriculum Guide
- Scratch website
- Sample game projects
- More Scratch game projects
You Win!
Check out photos from this playful session or find out what happened at the morning digital storytelling session.
Here are a few suggestions for next steps:
- Share projects! - Upload your projects on the Scratch website and add them to the BLC2012 gallery.
- Explore resources! - Find lesson plans, activities, handouts, and other Scratch materials in our Resources section.
- Connect with others! - Connect with other BLCers or find educators local to you by searching in our Members section.
- Get updates! - Follow ScratchEd Team on Twitter and Facebook to stay informed on the latest Scratch news or events.
- Contact us! - We'd love to hear from you or answer any questions. Drop us a note at scratched@scratch.mit.edu.
Thanks again to everyone who joined us for an a-maze-ing time at the "Game Design with Scratch" pre-conference session! We've posted some suggestions for next steps above. Until next time, we look forward to seeing you on Scratch and ScratchEd! Enjoy the rest of the BLC conference!