Lesson
Warm Up 15 minutes 1. Divide students into pairs and play a rapid round or two of Rock-Paper-Scissors. 2. In discussion after play, ask the students what choices the game designer designed for the players. They should identify some of the following choices: Throw a rock, paper, or scissor. Throw a new item each round, or keep the same one as in the previous round. 3. Ask the students to think about how a small set of designed choices leads to a game that has been replayed hundreds of millions of times, if not more! The design of choice is the essence of the game designer’s task. 4. Introduce your class to the concept of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories (sample included). Explain that these kinds of stories work by giving readers the choice to determine how the story unfolds. Be sure to also explain that these stories often have different ending scenarios or conclu- sions, which allow them to be read differently each time. Design 20 minutes 1. Based on the concept of a Choose-Your-Own- Adventure story, have the class draw a maze that offers several choice points for the player (worksheet provided). Some choice points should lead to a dead end, while others might lead backward or forward through the space. 2. If you want to give specific parameters, try the following: Two different end points: one good, one bad. 6-8 choice points. 2-3 dead ends. 3. Once students have completed their maze drawings, ask them to exchange the maze with another student and challenge that student to complete the maze in the shortest amount of time possible. Circle Up 15 minutes 1. Gather your class together and have them present their maze designs. 2. Consider the following as jumping off points for discussion: Describe the concept of your maze.
What choice points did you create? Why did you place them where you did? What did your player find fun or challenging about the design? Design 20 minutes 1. Now have the students reconstruct their mazes in Gamestar Mechanic, either as a single level (single screen or scrolling space) or across multiple levels. 2. Advanced students can explore how to turn their top-down maze into a side-scrolling maze with gravity. Allow time for playtesting and revision. 3. End the class with a games festival, where students have the opportunity to play everyone else’s games. You can have students vote on the top game or group of games. |
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