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Summary

In this lesson, students are introduced to the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge (STEM VGC) and its requirements, including the use of Scratch for game development. They will explore game design principles through interactive activities and understand the criteria used by the STEM VGC judges.

Curriculum codes

Digital Technologies: AC9TDI4P03 AC9TDI6P04

English (Literacy): AC9E3LY05 AC9E4LY05 AC9E5LY05 AC9E6LY05

General capabilities

Critical and Creative Thinking: Analysing

a young boy sitting and playing with handheld gaming device

Learning intention

In this lesson, you will become familiar with the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge (STEM VGC). You will explore Scratch for making a game and learn about game design principles. You will also see and discuss the criteria used by the STEM VGC judges.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite lessons for this lesson.

What you need

  1. Make the following accessible to students (either shown digitally or printed):
  2. Padlet/printed game design principles headings, sticky notes and textas

Before the lesson

  • Familiarise yourself with the information on Challenge page of the website.
  • Review the Student Work Plan, Game Design Document Template (GDD) and Scoring Rubric.
  • Set up either Padlet (you may need to create an account) or a display board with printed game design principles headings.
  • Print out pictures of familiar online and offline games, for example: Uno, Snakes and Ladders, Gaga Ball, Mario, Angry Birds and Mario Kart. One game per page. Students should know these games well and be able to talk about the rules and how the games are played.
  • Make one copy of the Game Design Principles worksheet to go with each familiar game.

Activities

Introduction (15 mins)

  1. Tell students that they are going to be creating an entry for the STEM VGC.
  2. Show the STEM VGC website on a screen for all students to see.
  3. Tell them briefly about the timeline and that they need to create a video game and GDD to enter the challenge.
  4. Show the students the Prizes for Winners section of the STEM VGC website and the example video of last year’s winning Scratch entry.
  5. Explain that students will be working in teams of up to 4 people.
  6. Explain the information in the GDD and use the winning entry as an example of how it is completed.
  7. Explain that all games submitted for judging must adhere to the content and theme guidelines.
  8. Show the Classification guidelines and discuss the information (specifically discuss point 2 of the guidelines relating to ‘E’ and ‘G’ ratings).

Main Activity (35 mins)

  1. Ask students to think about their favourite game or a game they enjoy (these could be digital games, board games, or any other type of game).
  2. Discuss, what makes a 'good game'?
  3. Explain the game design principles that some of the judging criteria are based on:
    • Visual Design: Visual design means how the game looks, including the pictures, colours and buttons you see on the screen.
    • Audio Elements: Audio elements are all the sounds you hear in the game, including the music, voices and sound effects that make the game more fun and exciting.
    • Gameplay (Ludology): Gameplay is related to the rules and procedures that guides a player through the game. They also provide the structure for how the game reacts to players’ actions, such as what you do, how you play, and what you need to achieve to win.
    • Engagement: Engagement is about keeping players interested and excited while playing the game, making sure they enjoy it and want to keep playing.
  4. Students work in small groups or pairs to analyse one familiar game.
  5. Explain to students that they will use Padlet or the Game Design Principles worksheet to record their thoughts to share with the class. Ask them to report on each element of the design principles.
  6. Give students 15 minutes to complete this task.
  7. Discuss some of the comments. Look for any themes under each game design principle heading.
  8. Ask what features within each game design principle make a ‘good game’. Record these onto a class set of ‘good game’ guidelines.
  9. Show the Student roles within their teams in the What you need to know section of the STEM VGC website.
  10. Discuss the different roles the students will have throughout the STEM VGC: Game Designer, Artist/ Visual Designer, Programmer, Storyteller, Sound & Music Effects Designer and a Tester.
  11. Explain the information in the Scoring Rubric and the Student Work Plan. Describe how the documents are related and how teams will track their progress using the Student Work Plan to complete their entries.

Reflection/Sharing Tasks(10 mins)

  1. Ask students to consider what role they would prefer to have within a team and write down why they would like to have this role.
  2. For homework, ask students to play some different types of games before the next lesson.

Teacher Tip: Next lesson the students will be forming teams. It may be helpful to group students based on their role preferences, rather than friendship preferences.