Build Your Own Game!

Close your eyes and picture your favourite game — on a screen, a tablet, or even a board game. Every game has something you have to DO and something that stops it being too easy. Think about what happens when you win… and what happens when you lose.

Every computer game — no matter how big or small — is built from a few key parts. **1. The character (sprite)** The thing the player controls is called a sprite. A sprite is a small picture that can move around the screen. It might be a cat, a rocket, or a dancing banana! **2. The backdrop** The backdrop is the background picture behind your sprite. It sets the scene — an ocean, a jungle, or outer space. **3. The goal** Every game needs a goal — something the player is trying to do. For example: collect 10 stars, reach the finish line, or avoid the falling rocks. **4. The rules** Rules decide what the sprite can do and what happens when something goes wrong. For example: 'If the sprite touches a wall, the game ends.' **5. The score or feedback** Good games tell you how you are doing. A score goes up when you do well. A lives counter goes down when you make a mistake. When you use a tool like Scratch to make a game, you build all of these parts using blocks of code. Each block gives the computer one instruction. You snap the blocks together, and the computer follows them one by one.