Ninja Instructions | Mentor Notes

This activity doesn't actually involve programming. Instead, it is just a reflection activity to get you to think about games (both online and offline).

15-30 minutes

1. Generate a list of games that you enjoy playing. Begin by writing down as many as you can think of.
2. Go back over the list that you just made and identify your favorites - maybe your top 5 or so.
3. Look at your two lists. Think about the following questions:
   • What do the games on the lists have in common?
   • What features of their design make them fun?
   • What features of their design make them *a game*?
4. Now take some time to imagine your dream game. Write down:
   • a list of design elements for that game.
   • What will you need to use if you wanted to program that game?
   • What will you need to know about programming before you could program that game?

• The key to this activity is identifying the design elements that make something a game and, hopefully, a FUN game.

This project is based on materials from the the Creative Computing curriculum by Brennan, Balch, and Chung.