Code Created – Coding Games Workshops for Schools

In the first session, we’ll introduce them to the fundamentals of coding with some coding puzzles! This allows the students to experiment with code, and we’ll gradually introduce them to the concepts they’ll need for when they create their own game. It gets students to really think about how games work, and for them to break down the components of a game before they start creating their own game.

In the second session, the students will begin to create their own game! Using either Microsoft’s MakeCode programming language with Primary School students, or GameMaker Studio with our secondary school students, they’ll get to design their own artwork and characters and, throughout the session, they’ll learn how to move objects, change their size and rotation, and detect collisions (the building blocks of almost every game!), and we learn how to code if and while statements that make games work. They’ll love seeing their ideas come to life!

Our Coding Games Workshop is extremely practical – we want pupils to get hands on with code, and experiment!

During the final section of each workshop, we look at a real game on the app-stores which we’ve deliberately broken. Using the skills the pupils have picked up throughout the first two parts of the workshop, they will work together to help us fix the game and adding new code to the game in the form of a new power-up! We always approach this as a group activity. Pupils get to write real code, with suggestions and support from their friends. This gives every pupil confidence and support, and a real sense of achievement and teamwork as they learn real world coding skills.

After the session, we then publish the group’s additions and changes to the app stores so they can show off to their family and friends when they get home! We even list the school’s name in the credits!

Each school that books a coding workshop with us receives the source code for the projects we created throughout the day, allowing them to continue working on the game once we have left, introducing their own ideas and taking the projects in new directions (we’ll set some additional challenges too!). We can also offer follow-up sessions and support materials.

In addition to providing you with follow-up lesson plans, and the source code for projects we create during our workshops, we can also provide Skype-based follow-up support, which is a super-cool and fun way for your pupils to stay engaged with coding and a great way for us to check-in and see how your pupils are doing and help them take coding further!