Topic 2.7 - Exploring other forms of Interaction

This activity doesn't actually involve programming. Instead, it is a group based activity to get you to think about games

One good way to get a feel for all the different ways that things can be done is to look at a bunch of existing programs and see how they work - to answer the question "how did they (the programmers) do that?" In this activity you won't be creating any code yourself. Instead you will be looking at several existing programs and answering both broad and specific questions about how certain things were accomplished in the code.

Assignment Specifics

One at a time look at the following programs. For each of the programs consider the questions associated with them.

Code Sample #1_Kaleidoscope https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/65161508/#editor

  1. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  2. Run the program by pressing the green flag and then using the cursor keys. Describe the program.
  3. There are three sprites named "Sprite1", "Sprite2", and "Sprite3" One at a time look at the script for each of these three sprites. What do these three sprites have in common?
  4. How do these sprites differ (you should be able to find at least two ways).
  5. How did the programmer make the "cursors" move around the screen?
  6. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this feature?

 

Code Sample #2_mazerbot https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/65156048/#editor

  1. Run the program by pressing the green flag. Describe the program.
  2. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  3. What is different about the way that the arrow presses are handled in this game versus the first game?
  4. How does the game detect if the bee hits the wall?
  5. How does the game detect if the bee reaches the finish line?
  6. How did the programmer make it so that the start and finish lines "flash" ?
  7. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this feature?

 

Code Sample #3_Pong https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/65162326/#editor

  1. Run the program by pressing the green flag. Describe the program.
  2. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  3. How did the programmer make the paddle follow the mouse cursor?
  4. How did the programmer make it so that the ball bounces when hitting the paddle?
  5. How did the programmer make it so that the ball bounces when it hits the walls/ceiling?
  6. How did the programmer make it so that ball knows when it misses the paddle and hits the floor?
  7. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this feature?

 

Code Sample #4_FortuneTeller https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/65162486/#editor

  1. Run the program by pressing the green flag. Describe the program. (Be patient when running the program as it might appear to be over before it is).
  2. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  3. How did the programmer create the "fade out, fade in" effect?
  4. How did the programmer create the different responses to your question?
  5. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this feature?

 

Code Sample #5_TalkingPicture https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/65162588/#editor

  1. Run the program by pressing the green flag. Interact with the program by clicking on various characters. Describe the program.
  2. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  3. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this feature?

Code Sample #6 - Go to the front page of Scratch and explore some of the "featured" programs. Alternatively, do a keyword search to find a program of interest to you.

  1. Run the program by pressing the green flag. Interact with the program by clicking on various characters. Describe the program.
  2. Take some time to look at the code for each of the sprites and the stage.  What new feature(s) did you discover while exploring this code?
  3. What kinds of games/programs could you create using this program as a starting point?