That Blue Square Thing

Scratch Programming – The Platform Game

The platform game is a very simple version of a classic platform game. It uses a black square as its hero.

The game only has one level to start with. It's up to you to design and build the new levels needed.

There's a YouTube video of the game being played here:

Instructions:

1. Download the game

Code iconThe basic Platform game – you may need to right click and save as to save the game to your computer

You will need to make sure that you know where your game is saved.

2. Open the file

  1. Go to the Scratch websiteexternal link icon
  2. Click Create
  3. File > Load from your computer > find the file and open it

PDF iconYou can download a full set of instructions or use the simple ones below.

3. Play the game

Click the green flag to play the game. Try and figure out how to move the hero (the black square) and what each of the blocks do. There is only one level at the moment.

4. Look at the code

The hero (the black square) is the only sprite. The code on this is quite tricky. Concentrate on the ways that colour blocks are used (the "if touching..." blocks). This is what makes the game work.

5. Design some new levels

On paper, design what you think will make 3 or 4 good levels. Try and make each level a little more challenging. Perhaps there are more red blocks, or the yellow block is high up? You could try and include some new blocks or power-up items if you feel brave.

6. Build the next level

  1. Click on the Stage area at the bottom right
  2. Now click on the Backdrops tab at the top left
  3. IMPORTANT: Right click on backdrop1 and Duplicate. This copies the backdrop so that you have a blank one to use later
  4. Build the level. It's easiest to use rectangles, circles and lines to do this and fill them with the colour you need

PDF iconColour codes - it's crucial that you use the right colour code.

Each level needs a black baseline drawn for the hero to bounce on.

PDF iconA helpful improvement that you might want to try

Improvements

There are lots of things you can do to improve your game. Here are some good places to start:

PDF iconSuggested improvements