Level 1: Spark

Welcome, Game Maker

You've played a LOT of games. You know when a jump feels good. You know when a level is too hard. You know when a game is boring.

That means you already have a game designer's brain. Now you'll use it to make games, not just play them.

Here's the plan:

1. Idea Forge. Invent your game on paper.
2. Hero Card. Create your own character.
3. Build Mode. Make a tiny game in MakeCode Arcade.
4. Boss Challenge. Make it harder (and more fun).

Ready? Press START.

Stage 1: The Idea Forge (15 minutes)

Rule #1 of Game Makers: Borrow the feeling, not the character

You probably love games with famous heroes. Those heroes belong to big companies. Their names, looks, and music are protected by law (called trademarks and copyright).

So in your games, you don't use famous characters, names, logos, or music. Not even a little bit.

But here's the secret: you don't need them. The magic of a game isn't the character. It's what you do and how it feels.

Pick a game you love. Ask yourself two questions:

• What do I do in it? (jump, run, swing, collect, fight, race, explore, build)
• How does it make me feel? (fast, brave, sneaky, powerful, clever, calm)

Now make something new with that feeling. Check out these examples:

See? Same feelings. Totally new games. All yours.

Fill in your Game Idea Sheet

Copy this onto paper, or print it, and fill it in:

MY GAME IDEA
-------------------------------------------
Game name: ______________________________
My hero is a: ___________________________
My hero wants to: _______________________
The player's main action (one word!): ____
The game should feel: ___________________
Things to COLLECT: ______________________
Things to AVOID: ________________________
Where it happens (the world): ___________

Pro tip: Keep it small. Real game makers start tiny. "A cat collects fish before time runs out" is a perfect first game. "A huge open world with 100 bosses" is a game for Level 50.

Stage 2: Your Hero Card (10 minutes)

Every great game needs a hero. Yours must be 100% original. That means you invented it.

Draw your hero in a box on paper. Then answer:

• Name: (make it up. Mix two words: "Blazewhisker", "Captain Pickle", "Zoomtoad")
• What are they? (an animal, robot, blob, vegetable, ghost…)
• One special power:
• One funny weakness: (Afraid of butterflies? Sneezes glitter?)
• Favorite color(s): (you'll use these in a minute)

Originality check: Look at your hero. Does it look like a famous character with a new name? If yes, change at least 3 things (shape, colors, outfit, species) until it's truly yours.

Stage 3: Build Mode (30–45 minutes)

Time to make a real game. It's a "collect it" game: Move your hero. Grab the item. Score points. Beat the clock.

Step 1: Start a new project

1. Click New Project.
2. Type your game's name. (Use your game name, not your real name.)
3. Click Create.

You'll see the game screen on the left (it's called the simulator). The block drawers are in the middle. Your big coding area is on the right. There's already an on start block there. Code inside it runs when the game starts.

Step 2: Add your hero

1. Click the Sprites drawer (sprites are game characters and objects).
2. Drag the block set mySprite to [ ] of kind Player into on start.
3. Click the little gray box inside that block. The image editor opens.
4. Draw your hero using the colors from your Hero Card. Each square is one pixel. Simple is great.
5. Click Done.

Look at the simulator. Your hero is on the screen.

Step 3: Make it move

1. Click the Controller drawer.
2. Drag move mySprite with buttons into on start, under your hero block.
3. In the simulator, use the arrow keys (or W A S D) to move.

Your hero moves. You just coded controls. That's a real game-dev skill.

Extra: Want your hero to stay on the screen? In Sprites, find set mySprite stay in screen and drag it under the others.

Step 4: Add something to collect

1. From Sprites, drag another set mySprite to [ ] of kind Player block into on start.
2. Click the word mySprite in this new block. Choose New variable and name it treasure.
3. Click the word Player in this block. Choose Food. (Or make your own kind, like "Treasure".)
4. Click the gray box and draw your item. It could be a fish, a star, a gem, a pizza slice…

Step 5: Score points when you grab it

1. From Sprites, drag the block on sprite of kind Player overlaps otherSprite of kind Player into an empty space. Don't put it inside on start.
2. Change the second Player to Food (or your treasure's kind).
3. Click the Info drawer. Drag change score by 1 inside the overlap block.
4. Now move the treasure to a new random spot. From Sprites, drag set mySprite position to x ( ) y ( ) into the overlap block. Change mySprite to treasure.
5. Click the Math drawer. Drag pick random 0 to 10 into the x spot. Change it to 10 to 150.
6. Do the same for y, using 10 to 110. (The screen is 160 pixels wide and 120 tall.)

Play it. Touch the treasure. Your score goes up and the treasure jumps somewhere new.

Step 6: Beat the clock

1. In Info, find start countdown 10 (s). Drag it into on start, at the bottom.
2. Change 10 to 15 or 20 if you want more time.

When the timer hits zero, the game ends and shows your score. You made a real, playable game.

Step 7: Make it yours

Pick at least two of these upgrades:

• Background: In the Scene drawer, use set background color to (or set background image to, and draw a world).
• Sound: In the Music drawer, drag a play sound block into the overlap block. Pick a sound you like, such as "ba ding".
• Effect: In Sprites → Effects, add treasure start spray effect for sparkles.
• Speed: In the move mySprite with buttons block, click the + to change how fast your hero moves.

Save your game

MakeCode saves automatically in this browser. To keep a backup, click the disk (save) icon next to the game name at the bottom. A file downloads to the computer.

AI sidekick prompts (for your grown-up's AI account)

AI can be a great sidekick for ideas and fixing bugs. But you are the game designer. A grown-up types these into their own AI chat (like ChatGPT or Gemini), and you decide what to use.

Never give the AI your real name, school, town, age, or photos.

Prompt 1: Hero Brainstorm

Copy and paste. A grown-up fills in the brackets.

I'm helping a kid design their first video game. The main action is
[JUMPING / COLLECTING / RACING] and it should feel [FAST / BRAVE / SILLY].
Suggest 10 original hero ideas. Each one should be a short description
plus a made-up name. They must NOT be based on, or look like, any
existing game, movie, or comic character. Keep it kid-friendly.

Prompt 2: Twist Generator

We made a simple MakeCode Arcade game: the player moves a hero to
collect [ITEM] before a countdown ends. Suggest 5 fun, simple twists
a beginner could add using MakeCode Arcade blocks. For each one, list
which block drawer to look in. Keep the explanations short and easy
for an 11-year-old.

Prompt 3: Bug Detective

My kid's MakeCode Arcade game has a problem: [DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENS,
e.g., "the score doesn't go up when the hero touches the fish"].
Don't fix it for us. Instead, ask us 3 questions, one at a time,
that will help us find the bug ourselves.

Sidekick rule: If AI gives you an idea, change it to make it yours. And remember: AI can be wrong. Always test it in your game.

Boss challenge: The Chaser

Your game is fun. Now let's make it exciting. Add an enemy that hunts your hero.

Your mission:

1. In on start, add another sprite. Name the variable chaser and set its kind to Enemy. Draw something sneaky (a grumpy cloud? an angry sock?).
2. Find the set chaser follow mySprite block in Sprites and add it to on start. Now the enemy chases you.
3. In Info, add set life to 3 to on start.
4. Add a new on sprite of kind Player overlaps otherSprite of kind Enemy block. Inside it, add change life by -1 (from Info).
5. Problem. You lose all your lives super fast. Can you fix it? Hint: move the chaser to a far corner after it touches you, using set chaser position to x y.

Boss bonus: Can you make the chaser slower, so the game is fair? Look for the speed number in the follow block.

When you beat the boss: Have someone in your family play your game. Watch them, but don't help. Write down:

• One thing they loved: ____________________________
• One thing that confused them: ____________________________

That's called playtesting. Real game studios do it all the time. You'll learn more in Level 8.

Level 1 complete

Check off your loot:

• I filled in my Game Idea Sheet
• I created an original hero (not a famous character)
• My hero moves with the arrow keys
• My game has a score and a timer
• I added at least two upgrades
• I tried the Boss Challenge
• Someone playtested my game

XP earned: +100. You are now a Level 1 Game Maker.

Next up: Level 2, Rules of the Game. You'll learn the secret "core loop" that makes games fun to play again and again.

Parents: Level 2 is part of the full manual, which is not published yet. See what's planned. For a note when it's ready, join The Drop from the homepage with your own email.