Game Development
About it
In the GAME DEVELOPMENT section, teachers and students will go through a lot of fun and educative lessons, here are some examples:
"Your first Scratch code"
In this lesson, students will learn how to use Scratch which is an educational programming tool aimed at kids. They will also learn how to create and delete sprites in Scratch, identify event blocks, and drag and drop programming blocks into their Scratch program. Additionally, students will be introduced to three different types of events and learn how to start a program they have created in Scratch. The main focus of this lesson is to equip students with the fundamental skills necessary for the upcoming Scratch projects.
"Building an adventure game"
This lesson is the first episode of a series of 4 episodes where students will learn how to build their own adventure game. In this lesson, students will learn the professional process of designing a video game. They will start by understanding Joseph Campbell's ‘hero's journey’ theory, which is a storytelling structure used in many popular video games and movies. Students will then learn how to create a structured plan for their video game, including developing the game's story, creating a diagram, designing characters, and creating storyboards on paper. After that, students will transfer their designs to Scratch and program the backdrops of their game to appear and disappear at different times during the game's story. By the end of this lesson, students will have a solid foundation to continue building their adventure game.
"The special world"
In this lesson, students will continue building their adventure game by focusing on the phase in Joseph Campbell's ‘hero's journey’ theory where the hero travels to the ‘special world’. They will draw screens for this part of the story on their storyboard and work on their Scratch project using an example provided in galactIQ. Additionally, the class will work together to discuss ideas and collaborate on developing their story further. By the end of this lesson, students will have a deeper understanding of the ‘special world’ phase of the hero's journey and will have made progress in their adventure game project.
"The knight & The mushroom"
This lesson is the first episode of a series of 4 episodes where students will learn how to build a complex videogame. students will take the first step in building a complex video game in Scratch. They will learn how to use the remix button in Scratch to start their game project. Students will also learn how to animate the knight sprite and create a start button for their game. Additionally, they will learn how to program the start button and make it more special using different techniques. By the end of this lesson, students will have gained valuable knowledge on how to create and animate sprites, use variables, and program buttons in Scratch, all of which are essential skills for building a video game.
"The attack of the mushrooms!"
In this lesson, students will continue building the complex game. They will review programming fundamentals such as loops, if-then statements, and sensing blocks in Scratch. They will also learn new functions like Scratch's clone function. Additionally, they will learn how to create a broadcast message, use loops to make the mushroom sprite walk, and use sensing blocks to sense color and make the mushroom sprite hide. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to fine-tune their video game project and use the skills they have learned to make their game more engaging and interactive.
About it
Game Development is the art of creating games and describes the design, development and release of a game. It may involve concept generation, design, build, test and release. While you create a game, it is important to think about the game mechanics, rewards, player engagement and level design.
The way to teach game development with galactIQ is to follow a natural design process. In class, students will learn to plan, they will draw their ideas on paper, define the characters or events that occur in their video games, organize fun brainstorming in class, and in general galactIQ will ask them to use their imagination a lot.
Of course the process jumps from paper to screen and through the use of Scratch both students and teachers will learn step by step the rudiments of programming and give them the skills to create their own video games in a very simple way and making each concept remain engraved in their minds.
The creation of video games is very important since through creativity, students at a very early age will understand how they can create video games for themselves and will understand how games they usually play work on the inside.
Educational Synergies
This planet will equip them with programming and design skills but it will also help them understand the online environment. In addition the GalactIQ episodes in the Game Development Planet propose the creation of mathematical, grammar or history video games which will make students engage with school’s core subjects.
Tools like Scratch will allow students to build their own ideas, allow other children around the world to play with the games we create and learn other valuable lessons such as knowing how to give constructive feedback and be respectful online.
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Impressive!
"The video game development episodes are broken down into manageable steps, which allowed all the children in my class to develop a functioning, playable game. What really impressed me though, were the opportunities to experiment with the code; allowing my class to create a truly unique game. I can’t believe how quick we went from zero to hero!"
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A fantastic tool for teachers
"Galactiq is a fantastic tool for teachers. It helps manage the flow of the lesson, get an overview of how students are doing, encourages student participation and collaboration. It is very comfortable to teach using Galactiq!"
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Simple and effective
"The step by step construction and coding instructions on galatIQ were simple and effective, ensuring student success regardless of their ability. Along with the instructions, the online tutorials kept students engaged and encouraged them to grow in confidence over the course of the week. The students particularly were inspired to be ambitious with their designs; creating unique and innovative robots. Overall, it is a brilliant experience!"
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It's easy and fun
"Galactiq is the perfect way to learn and teach coding and robotics to younger kids, even when having minimal to no coding experience yourself. Before each class, I go over today's lesson to gain an understanding of today's targets and goals. With hands-on information solely available for teachers, you can use Galactiq as a manual to learn everything needed to teach the class."
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"A practical approach with a lot of creativity ..."
My kids attended the galactIQ Academy for more than two years. During this period, Diego and Gabriel learned many cool things such as programming with Scratch, creating websites with Javascript and HTML, programming Lego based robots, among others.
The staff are kind, professional and always willing to help. The approach is hands on with a lot of creativity involved. It was a very pleasant and rewarding experience for my kids. I strongly recommended it for all kids (and adults) who want to develop programming and robotics skills while applying their creativity and enjoying an entertaining learning environment.
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"...the lesson was so well scaffolded..."
We used the first episode in the robotics series and our students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson. The instructions were comprehensive for both the students and the teachers and the children could follow them to build their individual rover and were thrilled to see that the commands they set made the rover move. As teachers, we valued the fact that the lesson was so well scaffolded and it included opportunities for discussion as well as for practising digital skills. We can see the potential of this educational solution and how it could complement a primary school’s curriculum.
