HS+DT+S2-bhabesh

=**Design Folder - Bhabesh Regmi**=

**Unit Question:**
Kids learn by playing. How can digital games be used to support and promote learning in the AISD Elementary or Middle School?

**Unit Question Interpreted:**
How can you make a game that will educate kids but still keep them interested. Thats the basic idea of this unit question, how can the game be fun yet still be educating kids at the same time. We will focus on either the Middle school or Elementary school, and we have to make a game that will help students learn. It can help any aspect of a kids learning, not just math and science but things like attention spans, instantaneous thinking, trivial knowledge or so much more.

**Guiding Questions:**
What I started with: Will Scratch be able to make it (Not to complex/2D/etc)? Who will my game be for (Elementary/Middle School)? How long should the game be (Will the kids get bored because its too long/will they be disappointed if its too short)? What media should I use (Will it be text based/will it include only pictures such as in notpron/will it be fully animated)? What should the gameplay be like (How will the information to delivered/what information will I be delivering) ? How can I keep the game interesting but still educational (If its all information it might get boring/If there isn't enough information will the kids be learning)? How simple/complex of a game will the user still be interested in (If the game is too simple then it may finnish fast, or not be as enjoyable/If the game is too complex the kids may not be able to play properly or may get confused in certain parts or about certain aspects of the game)? Added on later: Would I be able to create a open platform or sandbox game (like how Pokemon is made, however much much smaller)

__Why the Elementary School:__
I decided to create an educational game for the elementary school because from what i have done in Scratch, and because of what I will be able to create in the time frame I dont think that it would be possible to create a game complex enough so that a Middle School audience would enjoy it. Because Elementary kids are much younger I wont need to make the game as complex, and a small scale simple game can still be entertaining.

__User Opinions:__

 * ====__Rational:__ The user opinion is important because it will help set a guide line for me to follow, and make a game which is educational and the user will enjoy.====
 * ====__How will I get their opinions:__ I will create a set of questions and ask the students the questions not as a group but only a few of them individually.====
 * ====__What will be on the survey:__====
 * What do you find interesting?
 * What math subjects are you studying?
 * Whats the hardest part in math?
 * What do you think is the funest thing to do in math?
 * What do you look for in a game?
 * Do you like math?
 * What do you want in my game that you haven't seen in any other games yet?
 * What do you want in my game that you have seen and liked in various different games?

__Teacher Survey:__

 * ====__Rational:__ The teachers opinion is important because she will be the one allowing the kids to play this game, she will also have good insight on what the class needs to focus on, as well as how they learn.====
 * ====__How will I get her opinion:__ I will have an informal interview with the teacher.====
 * ====__What am I going to ask her:__====
 * What major topic(s) is your class doing in math?
 * What do you think the class needs the most help with?
 * What games do you already use, if any?
 * Are they're any new topics you want me to interduce?
 * What part do you think could use a visual appeal to help the students learn?

__**Self Assessment:**__
What will I be able to create in the given time frame? My goal: -A simple math game with 5-10 different maps/levels -Different challenging questions are asked, that force the user to think -A fun and interactive game that the user will finish with a some what better math skill (Hopefully)

__Information:__
Can make simple games Has a small screen with a set size that cannot be expanded, however new areas of the same size can be made so that the user can transition between the areas Uses pre-coded simple instruction that the game maker can then put together to create his one code in a sense. 2D

__Why:__
Scratch is a game making platform for beginners to learn about the coding proces, although it is only capable of creating simple and short games it is possible to make a game that will entertain Elementary kids for quite some time. I am a new comer to the game making world so I chose Scratch in hopes that it will be simple enough to use, but can still produce a fun game. From what I have done on Scratch I believe that it is possible.

__Existing Products:__

 * =====__Rational:__ Looking at products that already exist will give me an idea of what mine could be like.=====
 * =====__How:__ Look online for different math games, as well as looking at what the teacher already uses.=====
 * =====__What am I looking for:__ Any games that are popular and educational at the same time, or games that I find interesting and could help me improve my product.=====

**Existing Games:**

 * [[image:http://www.dadsfunmathgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/fun_math_games_timez_attack2.jpg width="235" height="149"]] || [[image:http://images.brighthub.com/a9/3/a93db82d1f1e48b3f156b9b6013273362c250671_small.jpg width="244" height="208"]] ||
 * This game is called "Timez Attack" it's an interactive math game that takes you through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In the game the player moves around in various levels and maps solving math problems such as the one in the picture, in order to complete the quest of adventure. || There is a website called "Math-Play" with tons of games for kids in Elementary school up till grade seven. The one above is a car racing game where you would pick a number from 1-10 before starting. You then have to avoid traps or hazards while collecting all the possible multiples of the number you have choses. For example if I pick the number 10, then I would have to collect all the 10's, 20's, 30's, and so on. ||

**Limitations-**

 * Only 2D games
 * Cannot create your own code
 * Glitches may occur, which are very hard to fix if even possible
 * Cannot hold too many scripts/sprites or the game will begin to lag
 * Cannot pause in the middle of a game, and if stopped then you must start over from the begging

__Pros-__

 * Simple scripts (therefore making simple games is easier)
 * Easy to understand
 * Pre-made scripts
 * External images can easily be imported and edited

__Cons-__

 * Simple scripts (therefore making complicated games is impossible)
 * Glitches
 * Low capacity
 * Once the game becomes bigger it may not reset properly (have to press green flag multiple times)
 * "Very inconsistent" - Asbjorn
 * Poor graphics editor

**Learning Curve-**
I think that scratch is a software in which you learn a tremendous amount at first and grasp the basics of it pretty quickly, however you have to put in more effort to keep on learning at that rate. Scratch has a lot to offer even though the scripts are pre-made, and this makes it easy to quickly try different possibilities and figures things out on your own, rather then going online to find the answer to everything. My learning curve for scratch has slowed a little from the time I started to use it, and now, however I would still say that I learn quit a bit every time i use the software. - Mid April

Now I have become much more familiar with Scratch and it has become easier to create sprites with more complex codings very quickly. Earlier I said that my learning curve had slowed down, however once we began getting problems such as the maze solver I quickly picked up the pace again. One we began to work on the prototype game I figured it would be my final game, so continued work on that and it helped me tremendously as i learned many different codings such as walking animations, objects falling when players move under them, and much more. Scratch as an overall software is very interesting to use, and I believe I have learned a lot on it not just about the software but also about marketing products and appealing to kids (or who ever the target audience may be). - End of May

**Resources that have/might help me:**
http://wiki.scratch.mit.edu/wiki/Scratch_Wiki -The main wiki for scratch, although I have not used this website yet I have heard from my friends that it is very helpful

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/ and http://spriters-resource.com/ -Both of these are good websites that I can use when in need of a sprite for my game. I put two up because if I cant find a sprite in one, hopefully it will be in the other. Another thing about sprite website that most people overlook is that they can also be great inspirations for when your stuck and dont know what to do, just open up - - - - these websites and look through some sprites.

http://youtube.com/ -Although no specific location is specified Youtube can be a very useful tool no matter what the task is, if you can find the right video.

=__**Design Plan**__= ====__//Design Brief://__ The Math Dungeon is my final game, it is being made for kids around the age of 10 who have a solid understanding of the basic mathematical skills needed in the 5th grade but still want to practice. I am making this math game because almost no kids have any interest in mathematics, however it was a very important part of the schools educational system. Thats why I'm going to make this game interactive and fun so that when kids play they get hooked onto it and want to keep playing, hopefully this will increase their interest in math as well as improve their skills.====

//__Design__// __//Specification//__//__:__//
 * Enjoyable
 * Interactive
 * Elementary appropriate
 * Something Different
 * Adventurous
 * Will improve users math skills
 * Multiple levels (more = better)
 * A guild for kids learning math


 * Test: I could test my game by: **


 * Playing through multiple times to check for glitches
 * letting others play to see if they understand the instructions
 * Showing it to an Elementary kid and seeing what he thought of it
 * Showing it to an Elementary kid to see if he can do the problems or if they are too hard

**Math Dungeon (Also the Final Product):**
====In this game the player starts in a room with nothing in it but a person waiting for you, he tells the player that they have found them selves in "The Math Dungeon". The guild explains the rules of the game and that you must answer each question correctly to go to the next level, the animations below show the structure of the game and what different parts of it will be like, the graphics however are not complete and will be different in the final product. The objective of this game is to try and complete all the level of the "Math Dungeon" so that you can go back home. The game starts off easy, with questions like "5x1" however as the player progresses through the game it gets more challenging, with problems like "(5x5) + (9x2)". Eventually the game will incorporate algebra, and that is towards the very end of the game. I chose this game as my final product because it involves the most math out of my three games, and it also have a story line and a sense of adventure that the other do not. This game will build on what the students know in math, and hopefully help them improve as well as learn new concepts such as basic algebra.====

//__Who Wants to be a Millionaire:__//
In "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" the player starts the game by meeting the show host, who asks the player for his name and then continues the show. In this game the player must answer all question correctly without mistake inorder to win. The questions get harder as you get more correct, and when one question is answered right the player moves up on the money ladder. If you make a mistake then the host tells you that you have been eliminated and you will need to leave with however much money you have made. He will then tell the crowd to welcome a new contestant and the player will be allowed to try again. The graphics are not final, and the stage is still to be made, the pictures below are simply showing the gaming structure.

**//__Chef Addition Math Game:__//**
In this game the players objective is to send out as many orders as he can in sixty seconds, you receive two orders at a time and have to find the sum of the orders then deliver the final count. The player is a chef who is cutting chicken, and when the order is complete to be delivered you simply press "n" for new order then continue with the next one. If the right number of chicken was sold then the player will receive a certain amount of money, and if the level required money count is met by the end of the sixty seconds that the player advances to a new location (Gets promoted), and now has to meet a larger money count. If the requirement is not met in the sixty seconds then the player is not demoted but instead has to try again (on the same level) until he can meet the required amount of money.

Start of Game/Cutting (score):

Final Product:
I chose the "Math Dungeon" as my final game because out of all my designs it best fit my brief and specification. It was the only game that allowed the user to controle the sprites movement around the screen. It was also the best because it allowed the user to progress through their math skills as they played the game, rather then just solving multiple problems of the same difficulty through out the game. I think its very important for the user to feel like the game is moving at the right pace and not getting too hard or too easy for them, thats why I chose this product over the others. It will slowly get harder as the player goes on, but only if they're answering questions right and not having difficulty moving on the next level, this way the game will not get to hard or remain to easy and thats why "Math Dungeon" is the perfect game for kids to play and improve their math skills.

**Production Plan:**

 * Set up "Level" variable
 * Create main character sprite
 * Create tour guide sprite
 * Set up dialogue that explains the game
 * Set up tutorial level with simple math problem
 * Create key sprite
 * Set up Level 2
 * Create trapdoor sprite
 * Set up the trapdoor to open when question is answer correctly
 * Create ladder sprite
 * Make the ladder climbable
 * Set up Level 3
 * Create rock sprite (with question engraved onto it)
 * Make it so that the rock will fall from the sky when the player gets close
 * Make the player automatically dodge the falling rock
 * Set up Level 4
 * Create wall sprite
 * Make the wall fall from the sky and block the players path once Level 4 has started
 * Make the question apear behind the wall
 * Set it up so that the wall will go back up once the question is answered correctly
 * Make the Guide come back (if that was your final level, if not keep making more levels)
 * Set it up so that the Guide announces you have completed the game
 * Create "You Win" screen
 * Set it up so that the "You Win" screen will apear and everything else will "hide" once the game is over

**Materials list:**

 * Desktop/Laptop with Scratch on it

**Evaluation of Plan:**

 * 1) Could someone else follow it and make your design?
 * Yes, my production plan is very detailed and no one should have a problem following the bullets to recreate my game. I have indicated when to create and show each of the separate sprites, so that the new creator will not miss a thing. I have also indicated when new levels will come in and how they should look, so the new creator's product should look very similar if not the same as mine as long as he follows the bullets above.

2.Is it logical?
 * I believe my game is very logical as it allows the user to be more interactive with the game, and therefore increasing his interests in the game as well as improving his math skills. My game would be played for long periods of time because there will be multiple levels and the user will get hooked in trying to beat the game. If this is successful then I think that my game could greatly improve the math skills of many kids and maybe get them to like the subject more as well.

=**Create:**=

My game went pretty smoothly, and everything was set up as according to the production plan. The hardest part to set up was the change in levels and creating cut scenes. Level changing was difficult because I had to re-format my coding so that it working with broadcasted signals rather then when start was pressed. The cut scenes were hard because Scratch doesn't have a "Pause Code" script, so if I did have a cut scene all the controles would still work. The way I fixed this was by using variables to determine when controles would work. For example, pressing down to climb the ladder only works when your on level 2, and left and right movements only work when your playing a level (so durring cut scenes they wont work). What surprised me was how difficult it was to make the game look good, and I realized that I would not be able to draw my own sprites. It became a lot more challenging to find the perfect sprite because I couldn't make one my self. My best idea durring this process was when I got to level 2 and I thought "this is to plain". So I added more to the game so that its not just walk, answer, walk, answer, etc. I added a trapdoor that blocked a staircase, and it would only open when the question was answer correctly. Then I though "why stop there" so I made the next level even more exiting for the user. As you walked along the empty screen a huge bolder came plummeting from the sky, and the player would automatically dodge the rock by jumping backwards. The question was marked on the rock and when answered correctly the rock lifted out of your way and were able to cross through to the next level.
 * Process journal:**

=Evaluate:=

**Product Evaluation:**

 * Quality: In my Test sections I said that the game quality could be tested by multiple trials and tests by others as well, this is exactly what I did and all the glitch's in the game have been fixed.
 * Appearance: The graphic quality was not so great in my game, however with some more work it can become better. It has improved significantly since I started however it is still very poor.
 * Function: My game does exactly what it's supposed to do, so I think I've done pretty good in this section of the game.
 * Ease of use: The game is extremely easy to use, the only controles are the arrows and the space botton, and their actions are stated when you play the game so no one should have trouble completing the game with ease.
 * User benefit: The game starts off easy and gets harder as it was supposed to, so if the user is to stick with the game till the very end then he will definitely benefit from it.

**Process Evaluation:**
Overall I am very happy with my performance on the Scratch software, my biggest weakness in all of my projects would have to be graphics. I was never very good at creating visually appealing painting, or drawing and thats carried over to my Scratch game as well. The coding however was my strength, I think I picked up on coding fairly quickly and didn't get to frustrated when things didn't work out. The coding was also the funnest part for me as I am very interested in working with computer codes, in fact when Mr. Muller first said "Who wants to work with game designing rather then wood?" I instantly put my hand up because i've been interested in it for sometime now and this class was my chance to experiment with it. If I had the chance I would probably have spent some of my class time more wisely and improved the graphics because no matter how good a game is, if it's not visually appealing then no one will play it. The biggest surprise for me would be the capability Scratch had, it was a very simple software however it was able to do much more then I had initially expected. Such as the maze solver, I never expected it to be able to do it, however it turns out its a lot simpler then you would expect and I think Scratch does a great job at getting the user to see that the simpler you can make something the better its gonna turn out. I believe I spent most of my time wisely however like I said above I would probably have spent more time on the graphic if I was given another chance. Here are the different stages that I went through:

Investigation: Durring this stage I looked at other math games out there, and my final game was based off of another game I found called "Timez Attack". I also wrote down multiple questions which I referred to and answered along the way as I was making my game. I wrote down multiple survey questions, assessed my self, figured out what kids would like and what help they need. Then I assest Scratch to see what was possible before finally deciding what kind of game I was going to make.

Design: This is when I started to make a list of what my game needs, and stuff I would want to avoid. I also made a list of ways to check if my game was finally done. I also made the design brief and was ready to start creating prototypes of my different ideas.

Plan: Durring this part of the Design Cycle I made my three designs and put them up. This is also when I looked back at guiding questions, survey questions, specifications and my brief so that I make sure to pick the right game. In the end I chose "The Math Dungeon". After I chose I made a step by step instruction list explaining how the game was made, and how others can make it. I also evaluated my plan one last time before moving on.

Create: This section was simply what I did, when I did stuff, and any challenges or interesting things I may have encountered.