Create a Simple Game
in Scratch
Barb Ericson
Georgia Tech
Goals
Learn about
event handling
simple sequential execution
loops
variables
conditionals
parallel execution
message passing
Game Description
We will make a game
where the player
controls a witch using
the arrow keys to
catch a falling
pumpkin. If the witch
misses the pumpkin
the game is over.
Delete the Cat
Click on the
scissors and your
cursor turns to
scissors and then
click on the cat to
delete it
Or right click on
the cat and pick
delete
Add the Witch
Click on the button with the picture
of folder with a star in it
if you hover over it, it says "Choose new
sprite from file"
Select the Fantasy
Folder
Scroll to the Witch
Click on the witch and then OK
Resize Your Sprite!
You can make your sprite larger or
smaller by using the grow sprite or
shrink sprite icons.
You click on one of these icons, then
click on your sprite until it is the size
youd like.
shrink
grow
Move the Sprite
Select (click on the arrow and then
on the sprite) and click and drag the
sprite to the bottom of the window
Add a Background
Click on the Stage in
the area that shows
the sprites and stage
Click on the
Backgrounds tab
Click on the import
button
Pick a background
Like night-city in
outdoors
Event Handling
We want to control the witch using the
arrow keys
When we click the left arrow the witch should
move left
When we click the right arrow the witch should
move right
This is a form of event handling
Responding to user actions like mouse clicks
and key presses
The Scratch Stage
The Scratch stage is 480 pixels wide and
180
360 pixels high.
Moving left decreases the x value
-240
Moving right increases the x value
240
0,0
at the center of the stage
-180
Programming the Witch
Click on the witch
sprite in the view of
the sprites and stage
Bottom right section
Click on the Scripts
tab
In the center area
This allows us to create
scripts (programs) for
the witch
Respond to Arrow Keys
Click on Control (orange) and then
drag out "when space key pressed"
Respond to Right Arrow
Click on down arrow next to
space and select right arrow
Click on Motion (blue) and
drag out "move 10 steps"
Change the move amount
Click on the 10
it will highlight in blue
Type 5 and press enter
Respond to Arrow Keys
Click on Control (orange)
Drag out "when space key
pressed"
Change "space" to "left
arrow"
Click on Motion
Drag out "move 10 steps"
Change it to -5 (to move left)
Click on the stage and try out
the left and right arrow keys
Does the sprite leave the
window?
Paint a Pumpkin
Click on the paint brush and star
It will say "Paint new sprite" if you
hover over it
Draw the Pumpkin
Click the circle tool
and then use the eyedropper
to pick an orange color
and then click in the drawing
area and drag to create the
pumpkin
Click the line tool
And then use the eyedropper
to pick black
And then click in the drawing
area and drag to create a line
Circle and eyedroppper tools
Drawing area
Click ok when
done
Size the pumpkin as desired
and move it to the top
Click and drag the pumpkin to the top
of the window
Make the Pumpkin Fall
When the green flag is clicked we
want the pumpkin to always start at
the top and fall down
Click on Control (orange)
Drag out "When green flag clicked"
Start the Pumpkin
Click on Motion (blue)
Drag out go to x # y #
this will always start the pumpkin at its current
position (Scratch doesnt automatically put it
back for you).
Sequential Execution
One block is executed
after the other
In order from top to
bottom
When the green flag
is clicked
the pumpkin will go to
the specified x and y
location
Loops
We want the pumpkin to continue to
move down unless the witch catches it
How do we make this happen?
We could use lots of blocks one after the
other
But, that would be slow and repetitive
We need a way to repeat a block or
set of blocks
This is called a loop or iteration
In scratch we can use a forever loop
Executes the blocks inside of it until the
script is stopped
Make the pumpkin fall
Click on Control
(orange)
drag out "forever"
Click on Motion (blue)
drag out change y by
10
Change it to -1
Try it out!
Catch the pumpkin!
If the pumpkin touches the witch
then it is caught
Let's track how many pumpkins we
have caught with a score
We will increment the score each time
we catch a pumpkin
Variables
If we are going to keep track of the
score
We want something to hold the current
score
And we want to be able to change the
score
We want the value to change or vary
This is called a variable
Track the score
When we start the
game set the score
to 0
Click on Variables
(red)
Click on Make a
Variable
Name it score
Set score to 0
Highlight the pumpkin
sprite
Drag the forever down
Drag out "set score to
0
Drag the forever back
up
Notice the score
showing on the window
Conditionals
We want to increase the score if the
witch caught the pumpkin
So this action will only occur only if
some condition is true
This is called a conditional or an if
Did we catch the
pumpkin?
From Control drag out
an if
Check if the pumpkin
is touching the witch
Get this in Sensing
If this is true
increment the score
From Variables
Increment the score
Try it out!
is this what you
expected?
Computers do
what you tell
them to do
Now what you
want them to do
Reset the Pumpkin
If we caught the
pumpkin
Increment the
score
And move the
pumpkin to some
random spot at the
top of the window
Reset the Pumpkin
Click on Number
drag out "pick random
1 to 10"
drop on the x value
after go to x:
change the 1 to -235
and change 10 to 235
change the y value to
match the y in the
first go to x # y #
Adding Losing
If the witch doesn't catch the
pumpkin it just gets stuck at the
bottom of the screen
Let's tell the player that he or she
lost
Add text sprite
Click on the Paint new sprite button
Click on the T for text
Pick the red color
Modify the font size
Move the square to where you want the
text
Type You Lost!
Hide the sprite
We dont want to tell the player that she
lost when the game starts
So hide the message when the game starts
Click on Control
drag out "when green flag clicked"
Click on Looks
drag out hide
Check if Lost
If the y position gets
near the bottom (near
-180)
Drag out an if
from Control
Drag out a blank < blank
From Numbers
Add a y position
From Motion
Broadcast a message
Sprites communicate by passing messages
One sprite broadcasts the message
Other sprites can listen for it and react to it
when they receive it
Click on Control
drag out "broadcast blank"
click on the drop down arrow
next to new name it lost
Add stop script
to stop
loop
stopthe
theforever
forever
loop
Receive Lost
Click on the text sprite
Click on Control
drag out "when I receive
blank"
click on the down arrow and
select lost
Click on Looks
drag out show
Click on Control
drag out stop all
to stop all scripts
Parallel Execution
We have several
things happening at
the same time
when the green
flag is clicked
This is called
parallel execution
Create Instructions
Click on the Show
Project Notes in
the upper right
corner
Add the author and
instructions
Press OK
Test your game
Click the green flag
If you want, adjust the speed of the
pumpkin
Increase the amount it changes in y
Modify the sprites using the Costume
tab
Save your game with the Save button
Share your game
You can share your projects at the
scratch web site
http://scratch.mit.edu
Click on the Share! button
You can also download other projects
and see how they were created
Other Ideas
Add a sound when you lose
Add the ability to win
When you reach a certain score
Track the amount of time it takes as well
Speed up the pumpkin over time
Add more sprites to catch
Add a sprite to avoid (like a ghost)
killer sprite
Concept Summary
Variables
Forever loops
Conditionals ifs
Sprites can pass messages
Sprites can react to events
Sprites can have several scripts, costumes, and sounds
Things can happen one after the other sequential execution or at
the same time parallel execution
can hold values and can change value
repeat all the commands inside of them one at a time until the script is
stopped or all scripts are stopped
only execute the body of the if when the condition is true
and receive them
like clicking the green flag and pressing the left or right arrow keys
