Level 1Project 1 · Session 16
16

Project 1 · A game of your own

Show it

What we are making: nothing. Today other people play what you made.

Somebody who has never seen it has to use it, without you talking. Whether that happens at an exhibition evening or in a lesson with another class does not change anything you have to do.

Set up

1
Your project, open and running, before the first person arrives
1
A card saying what it is and what to press
1
Your notebook, open at your plan
1
Somebody from your team standing next to it

What to say when somebody asks

  1. What is it? The one sentence you wrote in session 13.
  2. How do I play? Point at the card. Then let them try.
  3. Did you make all of it? Say honestly which parts you got help with. Everybody gets help; pretending otherwise is the only wrong answer.
  4. What went wrong? Something did. Say what it was and what you did about it.
💡 Tip
Let them play it themselves. The temptation is to hold the mouse and show them how good it is. Do not. A game somebody else can play is worth far more than a game only its maker can, and everybody in the room can tell the difference.

Afterwards

  • Write one paragraph: what you would make next, now that you know how.
  • Write down one thing somebody said about your game that surprised you.
  • Save your project somewhere you will still be able to find it in June.

What you learned

  • You can take an idea in your head and turn it into something that runs.
  • Building in small pieces and testing each one is how it gets finished.
  • A thing that works for a stranger is a different thing from one that works for you.
  • Next term the same skills move to real circuits, and the same rules apply.
Challenge optional — only if you finish early
  • Ask three people to play and write down their scores. Is your game too easy or too hard?
15. Test it on somebody, then fix it