Programming
with Scratch
A step-by-step guide, linked to the English
National Curriculum, for primary school teachers

Written by Neil Rickus (Computing Champions)

http://computingchampions.co.uk
@computingchamps

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Contents

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations ................................................................................................................ 3

Optional activity – Broadcast messages ........................................................................................................ 7

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz .................................................................................................................................. 8

Activity 3 – Maze Game ............................................................................................................................... 12

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game ................................................................................................................... 17

 
Activity 5 – Platform game ........................................................................................................................... 24

License

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. The license can be viewed at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
sa/4.0/

Acknowledgements

Parts of this work build on the Scratch Planning examples provided by Phil Bagge at http://code-it.co.uk/ in
accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) license.
The license can be viewed at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 2

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Familiarisation with the Scratch interface

• Create a conversation between two characters using Say blocks

Possible cross-curricular links:

• Literacy – speaking and listening; drama; speech punctuation; feelings and emotions of characters
• History – interviewing historical figures
• Geography – conversation between two people from contrasting environments
• PSHCE – discussing feelings towards an issue, such as bullying
• Science – highlighting misconceptions about a particular topic

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 3

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations

The Scratch website can be accessed at: http://scratch.mit.edu/ Click on Create to load the coding
environment.

The Scratch environment has four screen sections:

• Script Area – contains your program’s code

• Block Palette – contains sections of code (called Blocks), which can be dragged into the Script Area
• Stage – where your program’s actions take place
• Sprites Area – contains details of the characters (called Sprites) in your program

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 4

Our first task is to create a conversation between two characters. Before working at the computer, you may
wish to get the children to think about what their characters will say. In class, it is useful to model the first
few instructions on an Interactive Whiteboard at the same time as the children.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Firstly, delete the cat sprite so Click with the right mouse
we can use something more button on the cat in the Sprites
interesting Area and select Delete

Next, we’re going to choose our Click on the Choose new sprite
characters from library button at the top of
the Sprites Area
You can move the characters
around the screen so they’re Select a sprite from either the
where you want them Animals, Fantasy or People
sections and press OK

Repeat to add a second Sprite

We now need a more exciting Click on the Stage (left-hand

background side of the Sprites Area)

Make sure you select a Click on the Choose backdrop

background to make the Sprites from library button
stand out
Select a suitable background

It’s now time for our sprites to Click on your first Sprite in the
have a conversation. To do this, Sprites Area. Click on Scripts at
we need a Green flag to start the top of the Block Pallet if the
the program (Script) and a Script Area is not visible
number of instructions in order
At the top of the Block Pallet, Sprite 1
click on Events and drag a
when Green Flag clicked block
into the Script Area (on the right
of the screen)

Drag two Say blocks from

Looks into the Script Area and
attach them to the when Green Sprite 2
Flag clicked block

Enter some text for the sprite to

say

Click on your other Sprite and

repeat the above

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 5

 Click on the Green Flag at the
top of the Stage to run your
program

You will have noticed the Click on your first Sprite and Sprite 1
Sprites talk over each other! To drag two Wait blocks from
rectify this problem, we need to Control into your existing Script
use a Wait instruction
Change the Wait time to two
seconds for each block

Sprite 2
Click on your other Sprite and
repeat the process (note the
location of the Wait blocks
within the script is different for
the two Sprites)

Run your program again using

the Green Flag

Congratulations! You’ve created your first program in Scratch. You’ve written a program to achieve a
specific goal, sequenced instructions and worked with outputs (the speech displayed on the screen).
You’ve also probably corrected errors in your program, which is known as debugging.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Get the Sprite to move towards the character (Hint: have a look in Motion)
• Play a sound instead of using a Say block (Hint: try looking in Sound)
• Change the appearance of the Sprite after they’ve spoken (Hint: use a Next Costume block in Looks)
• Alter the background after one of the characters has spoken (Hint: the required block is in Looks)
• Add a third character (Sprite) to the conversation

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 6

 Programming with Scratch

Optional activity – Broadcast messages

In Activity 1, Wait blocks were used to ensure the characters spoke in turn. Using Wait blocks in this way is
quite inefficient and creates lots of extra work if we want to add additional events, such as movement,
sound or further speech. We’re now going to alter each Sprite’s script to use Broadcast messages, which
pass a message to a Sprite to ensure it only undertakes an action when it receives a specified command
(rather than relying on a certain period of time).

When working with children, this can be effectively demonstrated by whispering to a few pupils that when
they hear a specified code word, such as “Dave”, they have to get up and do five star jumps. “Dave” is then
shouted out (i.e. Broadcast) to the class, but only the children given the code word know to act upon it.

We need to modify our For each of your Sprites, delete

program from Activity 1 to your existing Script by clicking
remove the Wait blocks and with the right mouse button and
use Broadcast messages selecting Delete
instead

Click on your first Sprite and Sprite 1

drag a Broadcast block from
Events, along with a Say block
and a when Green Flag clicked
block

Click on your second Sprite Sprite 2

and drag a When I receive
block from Events, followed by
a Say block

Continue the conversation, by

adding a Broadcast block to
your second Sprite’s script
(you’ll need to create a new
message with a suitable name,
such as message2)…

followed by adding a separate Sprite 1

When I receive block to your
first Sprite and another Say
block

Continue the conversation by

repeating the process

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 7

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Create a Maths game containing a range of multiplication questions

• Add a score to the game using a variable

Possible cross-curricular links:

• All subjects – assessment activities (formative and summative; peer assessment)

• Science – predicting outcomes of experiments

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 8

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz

Initially, we need to ask the user a question and allow them to Input the answer. Although quizzes can be
produced for any topic, it’s best to initially only ask questions with numerical answers, which minimises
errors relating to spelling or typing.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

As with the first task, delete the Click with the right mouse
cat Sprite so we can use button on the cat in the Sprites
something else Area and select Delete

Next, we’re going to choose our Click on the Choose new sprite
character (you only need one!) from library button at the top of
the Sprites Area

Select a sprite from either the

Animals, Fantasy or People
sections and press OK

Feel free to also change the

background

We need our character to Drag a when Green Flag

introduce the game when the clicked block and a Say block
program starts into the Script Area (if you can’t
see the Script Area, click on the
Scripts tab at the top of the
window)

Change the text to introduce

your game

Our quiz needs a question to Drag an Ask block from

ask the user Sensing and attach it to your
Script

Change the text to ask a

multiplication question

The program has to display a Drag an if, then, else block from
different message depending on Control and attach it to your
whether the answer is correct or Script
incorrect. We do this using
Selection

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 9

  
Following this, we need to Drag an equals block from
check the Input and use Operators into the top of the if,
Selection to choose the route then, else block
through our program, which is:

If the answer is correct

(2x5=10), then display a “well
done” message, else display an Place Answer from Sensing in
“unlucky” message one side of the equals block,
followed by the correct answer
on the other side

Drag a Say block into the first

half of the if, then, else block.
Change the text to “Well done”

Drag another Say block into the

second half of the if, then, else
block. Change the text to
“Unlucky”

Run your program using the

Green Flag (you enter your
answer in the box that appears
at the bottom of the Stage)

Add some additional questions Add further Ask and if, then,
using the same process else blocks to your Script
containing different questions
and answers

Run your program and check it

behaves as expected

Well done! You’ve made another program in Scratch. This time you’ve also used selection and worked with
both inputs and outputs. We’re now going to add a score to our game using a variable.

A variable is similar to a box. It can contain anything the computer can store, such as numbers or text. Its
contents can be changed, or varied (hence the name variable), and we can find out the contents of the box
at any time.

We first need to create a Click on Data at the top of the

variable to store the score Block Palette and select Make a
Variable

Give the variable a name, such

as “Score” and click OK

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 10

 If the tick box next to the
variable name is selected in the
Block Palette, the variable is
shown in the corner of the Stage

When the quiz starts, we have Drag the Set, to block from Data
to ensure the score starts at to immediately below the when
zero, rather than continuing from Green Flag clicked block in your
the previous game script (this ensures it’s the first
instruction run)

Every time the user gets an Drag a Change, by block from

answer correct, we need to Data into the first half of your if,
increase the score by one then, else blocks. Place it before
the “Well done” message

Repeat the process for the other

if, then, else blocks in your
Script

Run your program and check

the score starts at zero and it
increases by one when a
question is answered correctly

Good work! You’ve now used a variable to record the score. You have also output the variable to the
screen for the user to see.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Adjust the score to decrease when the user gets a question wrong (Hint: change the score by -1)
• Make the character move or dance when an answer is correct (Hint: look in Motion)
• Get the character to include the user’s answer when they speak – e.g. “Well done. The answer was
10” (Hint: you’ll need to use a Join block from Operators)
• Change the background when the score reaches ten (Hint: add an if, then block to check the score
and perform an action if Score = 10)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 11

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 3 – Maze Game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Guide a character around a maze without bumping into the sides

Possible cross-curricular links:

• Maths – angles and lines of symmetry (within the maze design)

• Art – sprite and maze design
• History / Literacy – famous mazes (e.g. Hampton Court); Myths and Legends (e.g. Theseus and the
Minotaur)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 12

Activity 3 – Maze Game

Our first task is to make our character look like they’re moving as they travel around the maze. We also
need to control the character using the keyboard.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

We need to choose a sprite with Delete the Cat sprite.

more than one look /
appearance, or Costume. This Click on the Choose new sprite
allows us to make the sprite from library button at the top of
appear as if it’s moving the Sprites Area

Select a sprite from Animals

containing more than one
costume (possible Sprites
include Crab, Butterfly1,
Dinosaur1, Elephant, Monkey1)
and press OK

Leave the background white

To give the impression of Drag a when Green Flag

movement, we need to use clicked block into the Script
repetition to constantly switch Area.
between costumes. We do this
using a forever loop Attach a forever block from
Control

Place a Wait block from Control

and a next costume block from
Looks inside your forever loop

Run your program using the

Green Flag. Alter the number of
seconds in the wait block so it
looks like your sprite is moving

During the maze game, our Drag a second when Green

sprite is going to constantly Flag clicked block and a forever
move forward. We also use block into the Script Area
repetition through a forever loop
to achieve this Insert a Move block from Motion
into the forever loop

Run your program. You can

alter the number of steps in the
Move block if your sprite is
moving too fast

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 13

Next, we need to move the Drag a further when Green Flag
character when certain keys are clicked block and a forever
pressed. We use both repetition block into the Script Area
and selection to check for
keyboard input Place the forever loop after the
when Green Flag clicked block,
followed by an if, then block
inside the loop

Put a key pressed block from

Sensing in the top of the if, then
block and change the key to the
right arrow

Put a turn right block within the

if, then block

Repeat this process to make

the left arrow turn the sprite left
when pressed

Run your program using the

Green Flag and experiment with
the key presses. You can adjust
the amount of turn in the turn
degrees block if required

You’ve produced yet another program in Scratch. Within the program, you’ve used repetition to make the
character move across the screen. Repetition has been combined with selection to enable keyboard input,
which alters the location of the sprite output to the screen.

The next stage in producing our game is to create the maze. We also need to program our sprite to perform
a sequence of instructions if it touches the maze wall.

Firstly, we need to draw our maze Click on the Stage icon to the left
of the Sprites Area

Select the Backdrops tab at the

top of the Blocks Palette

Choose either the Paintbrush or

Straight line tool from the icons on
the left of the window

Select a colour and make the line

width thicker by dragging the bar
at the bottom of the screen

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 14

 Draw your maze by clicking and
dragging with the left mouse
button on the white backdrop
(don’t worry if your sprite is too
big at this stage)

Ensure your maze has a coloured

border all the way around the
edge

Your Sprite is probably too large Click on the Shrink icon above the
to move around the maze, so we Block Palette
need to make it smaller
Click on your Sprite a number of
times until it can comfortably
navigate around your maze

We now need to modify the game Once again, drag a when Green
so the Sprite cannot go through Flag clicked block
the maze’s walls. We can again
use repetition and selection to Place a forever loop after the
check whether the Sprite is when Green Flag clicked block,
touching the wall: followed by an if, then block inside
the loop
If the Sprite is touching the wall,
then we want it to say “Ahhh” for a
period of time, followed by ending
the game Drag a touching color block from
Sensing into the top of the if, then
block

Click on the colour within the

touching color, followed by
clicking on your maze outline on
the Stage (this will alter the
touching color to be the same as
your maze)

Place a Say block within the if,

then block and modify the block to
say “Ahhhhh” for 0.2 seconds

Add a Stop block from Control

into the if, then block (this will end
the game)

Run your program using the

Green Flag. You may wish to
adjust some of the game’s
sections, such as the Sprite’s
speed, size or the layout of the
maze

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 15

The Sprite currently remains in Drag your Sprite to your preferred
the same position when we restart starting position on the Stage
the game. Each time the game
starts, we ideally want the sprite Add a go to x, y block from Motion
to return to a specific starting to the start of your last script,
position and point upwards which now contains the starting
point’s co-ordinates (the co-
ordinates are also displayed at
the bottom right of the Stage)

You should also add a Point in

direction block from Motion

Run your program using the

Green Flag. Debug your program
as appropriate

Brilliant! You’ve created a game involving a Sprite interacting with the background, that responds to a
number of inputs (the keyboard and touching a colour). Repetition and selection have again been used,
along with instructions in sequence. You’ll be beginning to see how programs can be built by decomposing
them into smaller parts.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the wall (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to a ghost if it touches the wall (Hint: you’ll need to add a new Costume)
• Add a score that increases for every second the character avoids touching the side (Hint: combine a
variable for the score with a Wait block)
• Instead of ending the game when the character touches the wall, get it to automatically change
direction (Hint: remove the Stop block and look in Motion)
• Add objects, such as coins, for the character to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them
when touched)
• Include a second level (Hint: you’ll need an end point, of a different colour, in your first maze, which,
when touched, should change to your second maze background)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 16

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

A leading game manufacturer wants to see how well you can program.

They have asked you to design a game that involves moving a character around obstacles or away from
enemies.

Your game can be for one or two players.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 17

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game

If you wish, you can plan your moving sprite game and start programming immediately. Alternatively, you
can use the example game specification below, or the more detailed instructions overleaf, which break
down the necessary steps for each requirement.

Within school, pupils should be given a planning template and asked to solve the programming challenge
by splitting it into smaller parts. This is known as decomposing. This would typically involve specifying the
required steps, or script, to complete each section of the program.

Example game specification

Basic: A frog has to move across the road from his pond. The frog is controlled using the keyboard.
Butterflies automatically move along the road. If the frog collides with a butterfly, he becomes injured and
the game ends. The frog should always start from his pond at the bottom of the screen.

Intermediate: The frog starts with a score of 100, which should decrease by 5 for every second it takes to
cross the road. The frog starts with three lives. Every time the frog collides with a butterfly, he loses a life.
Once the frog has lost all his lives, the game ends. A "game over" message or screen should be displayed,
along with an appropriate sound.

Advanced: Each butterfly’s speed should increase as the game progresses. Once the frog crosses the road
and reaches a certain point on the other side, he should progress to the next level. He should also get an
extra 100 points.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 18

Detailed instructions

For each sentence of the Basic example game specification, the required steps are outlined below,
although a similar result can often be achieved using other blocks or scripts

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Text: A frog has to move across Delete the Cat sprite

the road from his pond
Click on the Choose new sprite
Required steps: We need a frog from library button at the top of
sprite, in addition to a suitable the Sprites Area
background
Select the Frog sprite from
Animals and click OK

Click on the Stage (left-hand

side of the Sprites Area)

Click on the Upload backdrop

from file button

Select the file containing the

game’s background and click
Open

Text: The frog is controlled Drag a when Green Flag

using the keyboard clicked block and a forever
block into the Script Area
Required steps: Our sprite is
going to constantly move Insert a Move block from Motion
forward using a forever loop. into the forever loop
We also need to move the
character when certain keys are
pressed

Drag a further when Green Flag

clicked block into the Script
Area

Place a forever loop after the

when Green Flag clicked block,
followed by an if, then block
inside the loop

Put a key pressed block from

Sensing in the top of the if, then
block and change the key to the
right arrow

Put a turn right block within the

if, then block

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 19

 Repeat this process to make
the left arrow turn the sprite left
when pressed

Run your program using the

Green Flag and experiment with
the key presses. You can adjust
the amount of turn in the turn
degrees block. You also can
alter the number of steps in the
Move block if your sprite is
moving too fast

Text: Butterflies automatically Click on the Choose new sprite

move along the road from library button at the top of
the Sprites Area
Required steps: We need to
add some additional butterfly Select the Butterfly1 sprite from
sprites to move horizontally Animals and click OK
across the screen. When they
reach the edge of the screen,
they should turn around and
continue moving

Drag a when Green Flag

clicked block and a forever
block into the Script Area

Insert a Move block from Motion

into the forever loop, in addition
to a wait block from Control

Add an if on edge, bounce

block from Motion to your
forever loop

Finally, add a set rotation style

block from Motion before your
forever loop (this stops our
butterfly turning upside down
when it touches the stage edge)

Run your program using the

Green Flag and ensure your
butterfly moves automatically.
Experiment with altering the
value of the move and wait
blocks

Additional butterfly sprites can

be added by repeating the
process above

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 20

Text: If the frog collides with a Click on the Butterfly1 sprite in
butterfly, he becomes injured the Sprites Area and click on
and the game ends the Scripts tab at the top of the
Block Palette
Required steps: We need to
detect if the frog is touching a Drag a when Green Flag
butterfly using repetition and clicked block into the Script
selection: Area

If the frog sprite is touching the Place a forever loop after the
butterfly sprite, then we want when Green Flag clicked block,
the frog to say “Owwww” for a followed by an if, then block
period of time, followed by inside the loop
ending the game

Put a touching block from

Sensing in the top of the if, then
block and change the sprite to
Frog

Put a Say block from Looks into

your if, then block and alter the
block to say “Owwww” for 0.5
seconds

Add a Stop block from Control

into the if, then block (this will
end the game)

Run your program using the

Green Flag and ensure your
script works as expected

Repeat this process for your

other butterfly sprites

Text: The frog should always Drag your frog Sprite to your
start from his pond at the preferred starting position on
bottom of the screen the Stage (in the pond)

Required steps: The frog Sprite Place a when Green Flag

currently remains in the same clicked block into the Script
position when we restart the Area
game. Each time the game
starts, we ideally want the sprite Add a go to x, y block from
to return to a specific starting Motion below the when Green
position and point upwards Flag clicked block. You should
also add a Point in direction
block from Motion

You may wish to also set the

starting position for your
butterfly sprites

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 21

Brilliant! You now have a moving sprite game, which has been produced by decomposing the program
specification into smaller tasks. A child undertaking a task such as this independently has met the coding
requirements of the Key Stage Two Computing National Curriculum.

For the Intermediate and Advanced example game specification, step-by-step instructions are not provided.
However, guidance for how to complete each part of the specification is outlined below. As with the Basic
guidance, similar results can often be achieved in a number of ways.

Intermediate example game specification

Text Required steps

The frog starts with a score of 100, which should • Create a variable for the score
decrease by 5 for every second it takes to cross the • Set the variable to 100 when the game starts
road • Use a forever loop to change the score by -5
and wait one second

The frog starts with three lives. Every time the frog • Create a variable for the lives
collides with a butterfly, he loses a life • Set the variable to 3 when the game starts
• When the frog touches a butterfly, change the
score by -1

Once the frog has lost all his lives, the game ends • If the lives variable is zero, stop the game

A "game over" message or screen should be When the lives variable reaches zero, either:
displayed
• Say a specific message
• Change the backdrop to a special “game over”
screen

Along with an appropriate sound • Play a sound when the lives variable reaches
zero

Advanced example game specification

Text Required steps

Each butterfly’s speed should increase as the game • Create a variable for the speed for each butterfly
progresses sprite
• Set the variable to 0 when the game starts
• Use a forever loop to change the move speed by
a certain amount after a specific period of time,
such as every few seconds

Once the frog crosses the road and reaches a • Create a sprite or coloured area at the top of the
certain point on the other side, he should progress screen
to the next level • When the frog touches the area or sprite, the
backdrop should change
• The starting position of both the frog and
butterflies may also need to be altered

He should also get an extra 100 points • When changing the backdrop, change the score
variable by 100

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 22

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the enemies (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to something different if it touches a butterfly (Hint: you’ll need to add a new
Costume)
• Get the butterflies to change direction (Hint: use a turn block)
• Make the frog bounce across the stage if he touches the side (Hint: look in Motion)
• Add objects, such as food, for the character to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them
when touched)
• Have different enemies, such as dogs or dinosaurs, on each level (Hint: only show certain sprites
when a certain backdrop is selected)
• Rather than your frog automatically moving forward, program the up and down arrows to move the
sprite forwards and backwards respectively
• Include additional levels

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 23

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 5 – Platform Game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 3):

• use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of
computational problems
• design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions
• understand simple Boolean logic [for example, AND, OR and NOT] and some of its uses in circuits
and programming

Task overview:

A leading game manufacturer was impressed with your moving sprite game. They now want you to produce
a platform game.

They have asked you to make a one-player game, which involves moving a sprite along various platforms.
The sprite is likely to have to jump over gaps between platforms, in addition to avoiding obstacles and
enemies.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 24

Activity 5 – Platform game

If you wish, you can plan your platform game and start programming immediately. Alternatively, you can
use the example game specification below, or the more detailed instructions overleaf, which break down
the necessary steps for each requirement.

Within school, pupils should be given a planning template and asked to solve the programming challenge
by splitting it into smaller parts. This is known as decomposing. This would typically involve specifying the
required steps, or script, to complete each section of the program. They should also identify sections of
code that can be reused and included within a procedure.

Example game specification

Basic: A sprite has to move along the ground or on platforms. The sprite is controlled using the keyboard.
The sprite should fall to the ground if not on a platform. The sprite should be able to jump onto platforms
and be able to jump a range of different heights. The sprite should start on the left hand side of the screen
and move right along the ground / platforms. The code should be implemented using procedures where
possible.

Intermediate: The sprite should move realistically, including when jumping or falling. The sprite starts with
three lives. The sprite should have to avoid enemies and lose a life if he collides with an enemy. Once the
sprite has lost all his lives, the game ends. A "game over" message or screen should be displayed, along
with an appropriate sound.

Advanced: Once the sprite reaches a certain point on the right hand side of the screen, a "congratulations"
message must appear and he should progress to the next level. The sprite has a set amount of time to
complete the level. Levels should scroll over more than one screen where possible.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 25

Detailed instructions

For each sentence of the Basic example game specification, the required steps / blocks are outlined below,
although a similar result can often be achieved using other blocks or scripts

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Text: A sprite has to move Delete the Cat sprite

along the ground or on
platforms Click on the Choose new sprite
from library button at the top of
Required steps: We need a the Sprites Area
suitable sprite to control and
also a sprite to act as our Select the sprite click OK
ground / platforms. The
background should be kept to a
single colour Click on the Paint new sprite
from library button at the top of
the Sprites Area

Draw a simple sprite containing

a flat ground and a number of
coloured obstacles. The sprite
should fill the whole screen

Rename the sprite

appropriately, such as "ground"

Text: The sprite is controlled

using the keyboard

Required steps: Our program is

going to constantly check for
when certain keys are pressed

Unlike previous programs, we're

going to manually alter the X
co-ordinates, rather than using
move

To move the sprite left and

right, we can use the following
code. Note the use of both not
and and operators in the final if
statement

Text: The sprite should fall to

the ground if not on a platform

Required steps: We need to

create and set a variable for the
"gravity". We also need an extra
if statement in the forever loop
to check if the sprite is on the
ground and reduce the Y co-
ordinate appropriately if not

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 26

Text: The sprite should be able
to jump onto platforms and be
able to jump a range of different
heights. The code should be
implemented using procedures
where possible

Required steps: We can create

a block, or procedure (in More
Blocks) named "jump" to reuse
the same code for different
height jumps

We can assign different key

presses to pass different values
to the procedure

Text: The sprite should start on

the left hand side of the screen
and move right along the
ground / platforms

Required steps: We can define

the sprite's starting position at
the beginning of our program
using goto x y

The final code is shown right

Well done! You now have a platform game, which includes the use of procedures and Boolean operators. A
child undertaking a task such as this independently has met some of the coding requirements of the Key
Stage Three Computing National Curriculum.

For the Intermediate and Advanced example game specification, blocks of code are not provided. However,
guidance for how to complete each part of the specification is outlined below. As with the Basic guidance,
similar results can often be achieved in a number of ways.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 27

Intermediate example game specification

Text Required steps

The sprite should move realistically, including when • Give the impression of movement using next
jumping or falling costume
• Slowly increase and decrease the value of the Y
co-ordinates during the jump

The sprite starts with three lives. The sprite should • Create a variable for the lives
have to avoid enemies and lose a life if he collides • Set the variable to 3 when the game starts
with an enemy. Once the sprite has lost all his lives, • When the sprite touches an enemy, change the
the game ends score by -1

Once the sprite has lost all his lives, the game ends • If the lives variable is zero, stop the game

A "game over" message or screen should be When the lives variable reaches zero, either:
displayed
• Say a specific message
• Change the backdrop to a special “game over”
screen

Along with an appropriate sound • Play a sound when the lives variable reaches
zero

Advanced example game specification

Text Required steps

Once the sprite reaches a certain point on the right • Create a sprite or coloured area at the right hand
hand side of the screen, a "congratulations" side of the screen
message must appear and he should progress to • When the main sprite touches the area, the
the next level message sprite should be displayed, followed by
changing the ground / platforms sprite

The sprite has a set amount of time to complete the • Create a variable for the time and reduce it by
level one every second
• When the variable reaches zero, display the
"game over" message / screen

Levels should scroll over more than one screen • Create the adjoining part of the level sprite and
where possible hide it when the game starts
• As the sprite moves right, move both the
background sprite left at the same rate as the
sprite

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 28

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the enemies (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to something different if it touches an enemy (Hint: you’ll need to add a new
Costume)
• Allow the player to select their Sprite at the start of the game (Hint: you could use a range of
Costumes or independent sprites)
• Get the enemies to move at random (Hint: look in Operators)
• Add objects, such as food, for the character to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them
when touched)
• Have an end of level boss to get past (Hint: only show certain sprites when certain co-ordinates are
reached)
• Give the sprite ability to fire custard pies or a similar, non-threatening, weapon at enemies (Hint:
add an additional sprite, which moves from the main sprite when a certain key is pressed)
• Include additional levels

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 29