March 2023 Holiday Camp
For Ages 8 – 10
Day 1:
Introduction to Tynker and Flappy Bird Game
This session will start with a light-hearted introduction to Tynker and the famous Flappy Bird game. The game is a side-scroller where the player controls a bird, attempting to fly between columns of green pipes without hitting them. Students will learn about basic game design and fundamental theory of a side scroller, endless runner game, in addition to having the opportunity to unleash their creativity as they create their own sounds, obstacles, coins, score system and levels for their game!
Moreover, students will focus on their main character – Flappy Bird. As they grasp the concepts of gravity, random, loops, and variables, students will code to make Flappy Bird interact with the game environment such as the enemy, coins, obstacles etc.
Day 2:
Introduction to programming concepts – conditionals and variables
This session allows students to dive deeper into the concept of variables required for the endless runner game. Using this concept, they can make obstacles (i.e. green pipes) to appear at random timings forever until Flappy Bird collides with them. To increase the individuality of their games, students can groom their creativity knowledge once more and make the obstacles appear at random places, coupled with animations and sound effects. The programming concepts taught in the previous lesson will also be recapped.
Day 3:
Final Touch-up and Presentation
Students will be tasked to complete their side-scroller endless runner game from the past 2 days. They are encouraged to add in more obstacles and make their level more interesting. After editing their levels, they can then try out other students’ games as well as allow other students to play with their own game, gathering feedback and adjusting their game as such to make it more interactive and user-friendly. This session is mostly a fun and easygoing class for the students as they make final touches and polish their game. To wrap it all up, students will present their game to their fellow classmates who will critic their game once more so that they can further improve with the ideas/feedback provided, allowing them to understand the importance of game testing in game development.
