The easy way for kids to get started with video game design Is your youngster a designer at heart? Read on! Designing Digital Games helps children apply their design skills to video game design using Scratch—and this book! Introducing simple programming concepts over the course of three easy-to-follow projects, it shows your child how to use the free Scratch platform to create a video game from the ground up. An extension of the trusted For Dummies brand, this juvenile book has a focus on accomplishment and provides all the steps to help young readers learn basic programming concepts to complete cool projects. From using sprites to create a game with a digital pet snake to creating maze games and cloning sprites to create a fun, attack-style game, this approachable guide offers simple, friendly instruction while building kids' confidence in designing digital games. Features a design that is heavy on eye-popping graphics your child will love Content is focused on the steps to completing each of the projects Offers a small, full-color, non-intimidating package that instills confidence in readers Includes basic projects that set the young learner on the road to further exploration of video game design If there's a kid aged 7-11 in your life who has an interest in using Scratch to design digital games, this book provides the building blocks they need to take their hobby to the next level.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: ALL ABOUT SCRATCH 2 About This Book 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Access Scratch on Your Computer 4 Create online account 4 Use Scratch offline 5 Project 1: Design a Classic Videogame 7 Create a New Project 7 Change the Background Color 8 Add a Bouncing Ball 9 Change the ball color 10 Make the ball move 10 Make blocks repeat 11 Bounce off edges 12 Change the bounce angle 12 Set the ball starting position and size 13 Add the Paddles 14 Move paddle with the keyboard 15 Make the Ball Bounce Off the Paddle 17 Add a Second Player 18 Update the Player Left code blocks 19 Update the ball code 19 Make the bounce more random 20 Keep Track of Player Scores 21 Create score variables 21 Increase the score 22 Reset scores when the game starts 24 Check for the Winning Score 24 Add an end-of-game code 25 Project 2: Super Snake 28 Create a New Project 28 Use Gradient for Background 29 Construct Your Snake 30 Select a sprite costume 31 Create a snake body 31 Sculpt the snake's head 32 Set the Snake in Motion 32 Make the sprite move forward 33 Add turning blocks 33 Add Body to the Snake 34 Create body cloning loop 34 Make clones different 35 Add Food for the Snake 38 Create food sprite 38 Randomize food location 39 Set Up Game Collisions 40 Check for snake and snackcollision 40 Make the edge of the Stage deadly 41 Make the snake's body deadly 42 Delay body collision 43 Troubleshoot snake collision 44 Code Snake Growth 45 Create the snake's length variable 46 Control the snake's length with code 47 Track Player Score 48 Hide the length variable 48 Create the player's score variable 48 Project 3: A-Maze-ing Game 51 Create a New Project 51 Choose Game Characters 52 Resize characters with code 53 Copy blocks between sprites 53 Design Maze Background 54 Place rows of cheese using clone blocks 55 Fill the Stage with cheese bits 56 Create maze walls 58 Cut through maze walls 59 Duplicate wall openings 60 Complicate the maze with dead ends 61 Remove cheese inside walls 62 Add Player Keyboard Controls 63 Duplicate code blocks 65 Make walls stop the mouse 66 The Mouse Eats the Cheese 67 Connect score to snacking 67 Keep track of the cheese left 69 Program Enemy Patrol 70 Give the enemy marching orders 70 Adjust the sprite length 72 Change the center of rotation 73 Track Player Lives 73 Give Player a Chance to Win 75 Project 4: Attacking the Clones 79 Create a New Project 79 Choose a Game Background 80 Create Player and Enemy Sprites 81 Resize and position the spaceship 81 Create alien invaders 82 Modify a sprite from the Sprite Library 83 Clone a Bunch of Aliens 83 Evenly position alien clones 84 Give clones their marching orders 87 Broadcast message to turn 87 Change a sprite's rotation style 88 Straighten alien clone columns 90 Make aliens move down, too 92 Add Laser Blaster to Spaceship 93 Create a laser sprite 94 Fire the laser with the spacebar 95 Create laser clones 96 Enable Spaceship Movement 97 Use Collision to Destroy Aliens 98 Delete the laser on impact 98 Program Enemies to Drop Bombs 100 Create an enemy bomb sprite 100 Randomize enemy attacks 101 Add Sound to Your Game 105 Make lasers a blast 105 Play sound when an alien is hit 106 Give the Player Three Lives 107 Create a variable to track player lives 107 Destroy a Player on Impact 108 Play sound when the player is hit 108 Animate the player explosion 109 Keeping Score 110 Author Notes 114 Share Your Scratch Projects Online 114 Share project from online Scratch editor 114 Share project from offline Scratch editor 116 Publish Scratch Games on Any Website 116