5-6 Creating a digital game | Digital Technologies Hub

Home Plan and prepare Scope and Sequence (F-10) 5-6 Creating a digital game

Unit Creating a digital game

Year level: 5-6 Topic: Creating digital solutions Time: 20 hours

Developing an online game provides a useful context for students to apply and develop the problem-solving processes so they can create a digital solution, namely a digital game. This would involve defining the target audience for the game and their needs, designing the rules/actions and the appearance of the game (interface design). The ‘rules’ are written as an algorithm that include decisions, options and ways that the users input instructions. This addresses what data is needed for the game and what features the game must perform (functional requirements). Students use a programming language to create the digital solution (a game) and then judge if their solution meets the intended requirements. A potential extension when creating the digital solution is to connect an input device such as a Makey Makey board to create a game controller.

Topic Overview
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Unit Overview
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Unit SOLO Taxonomy
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What makes a good game?

Australian Curriculum Alignment

Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)

What's this about?

Game design provides an opportunity to analyse existing games and replicate or build on their functionality and game play to create a new digital game. It involves finding out exactly what the users want in a game – what the game should be achieving.

A key stage in this process is defining the problem and identifying the functional requirements and any data needed.

Game control is an important consideration in design. How the user interacts with the game can have a bearing on the overall enjoyment and game play. The use of arrow keys is often incorporated in game play; for example, arrow keys can be used to move an avatar or character within the game.

Learning tasks

Students investigate a range of games. They identify common elements of a game that can be categorised based on user engagement/enjoyment.
Students interact with a game and determine how effective and engaging the game is based on set criteria (eg interface, user interaction, feedback provided to the player during and after the game).
This investigation helps inform the data and functional requirements for the student’s own digital solution. Provide an opportunity for students to clearly define their problem, the purpose of their game and the audience for the game. Students identify functional and data requirements.
Extension: This activity has links with exploring input devices in digital systems. Provide a programming board that can be used as an input device; for example, with the aid of a simple circuit board such as Makey Makey students can design their own controller. The controller can be designed based on user needs and how they intend the user to interact with the game.
For students who can handle more of a challenge the Arduino and ScratchX combination can enable students to design their own game controller.

Supporting Resources

What makes a good game? Students explore design thinking processes to investigate how games are designed, created and played.

Design thinking process: Ideation Explore the design thinking process of ideation and reflect on different ways we can generate ideas to solve a problem with a design brief.

Makey Makey projects These projects incorporate Scratch programming.

ScratchX An Arduino extension is available on ScratchX, a Scratch sister site hosting experimental extensions.