Scratch is a popular platform that has been developed by MIT for young kids to start their journey of coding. It is a visual block-based programming language and website that kids can use to learn how to code by developing animations and games.
Game development on scratch is a common way that parents and educators use to help get kids started on learning how to program. This is an effective method as it makes the learning process fun and interactive for kids as they can unleash their creativity while learning important basic coding concepts.
How to Create a Video Game on Scratch?
This blog is a step-by-step guide that will be comprehensive guide on how kids can create a video game from scratch that is very useful for developing kids’ minds. The following are some steps to learn from that can be used to build a game on Scratch.
Step 1: Setting up an Account
The first thing to start with is going over to the Scratch website and creating a free account. Users will choose a unique username and password to create their account. Once they have logged in, they will be able to familiarize themselves with Scratch’s interface where they can explore multiple other projects as well.
Step 2: Plan out the Game
The next thing to do before making a video game is to plan it out with your kid and decide what kind of game they would like to create. It is a good way to give them some direction for the project and plan out the overall concept.
This helps to decide what the objective of the game will be, what kind of characters should be in the game and what their functions would be. Moreover, they can also look at what should the environment of the game should look like. It sets a goal for the kids to let them know what they need to achieve when developing the game.
Step 3: Choosing the Sprite and Background
When the game plan has been decided, the next thing to focus on is the characters, objects, and background. Characters and objects will interact in the game while the background is provided for the setting.
Although there is “Scratch Cat” available by default, you can choose your own character as well. You will be clicking on the “Choose a Sprite” button in the bottom right corner of your screen, that will open the Scratch library that has a range of characters to choose from.
Users can also create their sprite by using the paint editor icon. The same thing can be done when choosing a background by clicking on the bottom right blue button or simply uploading your own images to set a background for your game.
The entire space is known as your main area which is also called the stage. Sprites can move around when you add a code to it which makes it exciting for kids when building their games! Moreover, sprite can also be removed by right clicking the trash icon on it.
Step 4: Adding Code to Your Character
After creating your own sprite, the next step is to add code to the character and bring it to life! The code will help the player to control the sprite.
Each sprite can have their own actions that will make it move depending on you code it. An example could be how you can make a sprite move by pressing the up and down arrow of your keyboard.
You can do this my clicking on the sprite which will open the code editor where you will be able to drag and drop blocks of code to create script of code, these will act as your commands.
You can program it to move up/down and even right/left when you click on the up/down or right/left arrow keys.
You can also use event blocks that will trigger actions or motion blocks to control the movement of the sprite. Moreover, there are control blocks as well that help to manage game logic. As a first-timer, you can experiment with different types of blocks that will result in the desired interactions.
Step 5: Playing around with Objectives
In your game plan, you may decide what sort of objective you want in your game. Different games will have different objectives such as collecting, dodging, or question games. In a collecting game, your character will have to collect objects.
Dodging games can involve the character having to avoid enemies whereas the question game will have questions you are supposed to answer. You can choose the objective according to the game you are planning to develop.
Let’s make it easier to understand by demonstrating a code for a collecting game. In this, the sprite collects certain objects and when it touches the object, it will reappear in a different random position. A simple way to code this is by following these steps;
- Drag and drop when the green flag is clicked block, which means the game has started.
- Then the forever block to make sure this is repeated in the game continuously.
- We will use the if block and add “touching sprite? then” This code is added to the object, and it will check if the object is touching the sprite.
- The next thing to do is to attach the “go to random position” blue block. If the object is touching the sprite, then it will go to a random position.
- Since the forever block is being used, these steps will be repeated. This block is also known as a loop which means the code inside this block will run continuously until the game stops. This block helps to ensure that whenever the sprite touches the object, it prompts a reaction every time.
Step 6: To Test Your Game
After implementing the steps, it is time to okay your game! Click on the green flag to play your game and see how it performs. Game development can only be perfected through trial and error, so it is important to experiment and refine your code until it matches your vision.
Step 7: Share Your Game
Finally! You can give yourself a high-five for creating your very own game on Scratch. The best part is you can share this game with your friends and family to show them your work. Click on the “Share” button to publish your game in Scratch community and others can play and view the game.
Conclusion
Learning to develop a video game on Scratch is just the beginning of your coding journey. You can learn many more concepts as well as explore tons of features on Scratch to gain more knowledge. Moreover, you can also check out other games on Scratch and challenge yourself to create similar ones or more complex games.
Overall, thanks to a platform like Scratch that has made game development accessible and fun for kids. Use this beginner guide to help your kids develop their very own video games that will help to unleash their coding potential and imagination.