Game design
Lesson 1
Introduction to game design
Introduction
Throughout this week you will learn how video games are made, what makes them popular and how to judge a good game. You will use Makecode Arcade to create your own themed video game and share it with your target audience.
Watch the video for an introduction to Lesson 1.
Understanding the tasks
Rating the tasks
This lesson contains a few activities. Each activity will have one or more tasks. These tasks have been given a rating.
Some of the tasks in this lesson are must do. These are important to help you understand the introductory ideas or skills.
Have a go at the should do tasks and reach out to your friends or teacher if you need some advice. These will usually take a bit longer to complete than must do tasks.
Could do tasks will probably take you some extra time and might need you to get creative or problem solve. We strongly encourage you to try these.
Activity 1 - What makes a good video game?
Note: While we have linked to videos in the interactive presentations in this activity, any other pages or other material linked to beyond these videos are not endorsed by the department.
Task 1 - The first video games
Move through the interactive presentation to learn about some of the oldest and most popular video games in history.
Task 2 - Attributes of good video games
Work through the interactive presentation to learn about five criteria used to evaluate video games and analyse two of the most successful video games of all time, Tetris and Minecraft.
Task 3 - Gaming through the ages
Did you know that the video game industry is worth more money than the film industry and music industry combined?
Revisit The rise on gaming revenue visualised infographic that was explored in detail in literacy lesson 1. Take note of how much money pours into the world of gaming tech!
Complete the interactive image sequencing activity below to order gaming technology over the last 50 years.
Complete The future of gaming SWOT analysis Google Sides template to explore the future of gaming. What are the future opportunities for society? What are the dangers of this advancing technology?
Click on the image to open a new tab and view the Google Slides.
Click on the Use Template button to create a copy for you to edit.
Activity 2 - Audience
Note: While we have linked to videos in the interactive presentations in this activity, any other pages or other material linked to beyond these videos are not endorsed by the department.
Task 1 - Game classification
Why do we have ratings on the games we buy?
Did you know that some games are rated in such a way that shops won’t sell them to people under 15 years old – why do you think this is?
Work through the Game classification interactive presentation to learn about Australian classification ratings.
Task 2 - A closer look at games for kids
Read the Video games for kids Google Slides below.
Based on what you have learned about audience, ratings and the look and feel of games, explain which audience Minecraft is best suited for. Use the interactive PEEL activity to write your answer.
Click on the question mark symbols inside the interactive to see specific instructions for each section.
When you have finished writing your paragraph, use the blue Copy button to extract the text and paste it into a Word or Google Doc, ready to share with your teacher.
Activity 3 - Eat the fruit
Task 1 - Using MakeCode Arcade
Watch the video showing how to log into MakeCode Arcade and play Eat the fruit. You can follow along with this process by pausing the video.
Log into MakeCode Arcade using your NSW Department of Education email and play Eat the fruit so it is added to your projects.
Task 2 - It is time to play
Play Eat the fruit for 5-10 minutes.
Evaluate the game against the criteria explored in Activity 1 Task 2.
Use the Eat the fruit evaluation Google Slides template to complete this activity.
Click on the image to open a new tab and view the Google Slides.
Click on the Use Template button to create a copy for you to edit.
Task 3 - Modify Eat the fruit
After playing Eat the fruit and exploring the attributes of a good video game, brainstorm how you could improve the game.
Use the Eat the fruit SCAMPER Google Slides template to complete this activity.
Click on the image to open a new tab and view the Google Slides.
Click on the Use Template button to create a copy for you to edit.
Handing in your work
Don't forget to hand in the work you completed today!
Your teacher will have told you to do one of the following:
Upload any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your Learning Management system (MS Teams, Google Classroom for example).
Email any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your teacher.
Make sure you keep any handwritten work you did in your exercise book or folder as your teacher may need to see these when you are back in class.