Activity 28: Character Movement Basics

Guide students through creating a sample character movement.

Description

In this activity, students will learn about different styles of character movements in a video game. Students will watch two short examples, before learning how to code a simple WASD and Jump movement style using Scratch.

Time Required

• Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes

Materials Required

• Shared Projector
• Movement Style Ex. #1
• Movement Style Ex. #2
• Scratch.org’s Create
• IPADs

WASD and Jump Code Template

WASD/Jump Code

Steps to Conduct the Activity

Difficulty Breakdown

Introduction

• Introduce to the students that there are different game movement styles. Allow the students to give examples, such as only forward, WASD, jumping, etc. Show the students the examples.
• Split the students into small groups and pass out the pre set up IPADs. Students may work individually if there are enough IPADs.

Beginner

• Guide the students through building the code featured above, focusing solely on the WASD movements.
• Allow the students to guess what comes next while building the code.
• 🔍 Focus Skills: instruction following, block coding, character movements

Intermediate

• Guide the students through building the WASD code above.
• Allow the students to guess what comes next while building the code.
• Introduce the Jump portion of the code. Given what has already been built, what do we probably need for this section?
• Guide students through the remainder of the code.
• 🔍 Focus Skills: instruction following, block coding, character movements

Discussion & Reflection

After the activity has been completed, gather the class for a quick debrief. We can ask:

• What are some different ways video game characters can move?
• Why is it important to test our code as we work?

Wrap-Up

This activity aims to enhance students’ understanding of character movement in game design. By collectively coding an example movement style, students apply their knowledge in a practical and interactive manner, reinforcing their understanding of character movement.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• Give an example of character movement style
• Explain the process we used to code our movement
• Explain why you test/debug code in stages, rather than all at once