game design skill cards

OVERVIEW
FULL SCREEN If you are new to Scratch, click
CHANGE LANGUAGE the right edge to expand the
RUN/STOP PROJECT Help panel for tips and tutorials.

STAGE HELP

SCRIPTS

SPRITES

Use Scratch at scratch.mit.edu or download from scratch.mit.edu/scratch2download.

1
CHANGE BACKDROP

2
CHANGE BACKDROP
A backdrop covers the entire Stage.
Backdrops cannot be resized or
move across the stage.

Use these script blocks to change

backdrops during a game:

STAGE BUTTON
Click the small icons beneath
the Stage button to choose
a new backdrop from the CHOOSE BACKDROP
backdrops library, paint a new UPLOAD BACKDROP
backdrop, upload a photo or PAINT BACKDROP
use a webcam. BACKDROP FROM WEBCAM

2
ADD SPRITES

3
ADD SPRITES
Sprites are graphics you can CHOOSE LIBRARY SPRITE
place and animate on the Stage. PAINT NEW SPRITE
If you click and drag a sprite it
UPLOAD CUSTOM SPRITE
will appear in front of other
sprites. SPRITE FROM WEBCAM

Use these buttons to add a

sprite from the library, paint a
new one, upload custom sprite
from your computer or capture
a sprite with a webcam.

Select a sprite and

click the Scripts
tab to add code
blocks. Snap the
blocks together to
combine actions for
your sprite.

3
MOVE SPRITE

4
MOVE SPRITE
The easiest way to move a sprite across the Stage is to click and drag with
your mouse or trackpad. Several blocks control the movement of sprites
while a project is running:

Move sprite a specified number of steps in the direction

it is pointing.
Move sprite to a specific location on the Stage (x:
-240 to 240, and y: -180 to 180).
Move sprite to a specific horizontal position. While the SET
Y block moves the sprite to a vertical position.
Change horizontal position by the specified amount.
CHANGE Y changes vertical.
Move sprite to a specific location in a
set amount of time.

A sprite’s position can be

animated by placing MOVE and
CHANGE blocks inside a “C” block
(FOREVER, REPEAT or IF THEN).

4
SWITCH COSTUMES

5
SWITCH COSTUMES
DUPLICATE TOOL

A sprite can have multiple costumes which appear

under the costumes tab.

One way to animate sprites is by adding a new

costume for each pose. Use the Duplicate tool,
then make changes with the Paint Editor tools.

Use these two script blocks to

switch costumes while a project
is running. Give each costume a
descriptive name to make them
easier to keep track of.

5
CHANGE DIRECTION

6
CHANGE DIRECTION
If you Shift-click a sprite and
choose info you can see the
current direction and rotation
style, as well as the x and y
position.

To change the direction of a sprite while your project is running there are
several options:

Turn the sprite clockwise by specified degrees (or

counter-clockwise with other TURN block).
Turn the sprite to a specific direction (right: 90,
left: -90, up: 0, down: 180 or custom 0 to 360).
Turn the sprite toward another sprite or toward
the position of the cursor on the stage.
Change sprite orientation (all around
[sprite rotates], don’t rotate or left-right
[sprite flips left or right]).

Use the Set Costume Center tool in the Paint Editor (near top right
corner of the canvas) to change the point around which a sprite rotates.
6
 KEYBOARD CONTROL

A
W D
S

7
KEYBOARD CONTROL
The most popular way for players to
control sprites is with the keyboard.
The blocks to the left are the easiest
way. . .

. . . while these blocks

provide smoother motion
and allow more options to
control the movement of a
sprite.

7
MOUSE CONTROL

8
MOUSE CONTROL
One way to allow players to control the
movement of a sprite using a mouse or
trackpad is to put a GO TO block inside
FOREVER and choose mouse-pointer.

You need additional code on target sprites to switch costumes and make
a sound (below is an example from a shooting gallery game).

You may have a sprite merely face in the

direction of the cursor by placing POINT
TOWARDS inside a FOREVER block.
8
 ADD SOUND
UPLOAD SOUND Select the Stage or a sprite, then
RECORD SOUND click the Sounds tab to choose,
CHOOSE FROM LIBRARY record or upload new sounds.

STOP
PLAY
RECORD
ADJUST RECORDING VOLUME

You may preview, add effects, adjust the volume and edit soundwaves.

9
ADD SOUND

Use the PLAY SOUND block to begin a recorded

or library sound. To play the entire sound before
running connected blocks use PLAY SOUND UNTIL
DONE.

Use SET INSTRUMENT to choose one

of the built-in musical instruments.
Then use the PLAY NOTE block to
play a single note (1 to 127; 60 is
middle C) for the specified number
of beats. (You can manually enter
notes below 48 or above 72).

Use the PLAY DRUM block for individual drumbeats, the REST block to pause
between notes, VOLUME blocks to adjust levels and TEMPO to adjust timing.

9
SAY/THINK/ASK

10
SAY/THINK/ASK
To create dialogue in your game, use
the SAY FOR block to automatically
create speech bubbles and pause before
moving on. Use WAIT blocks to pause a
sprite while another sprite is talking.

You can also show what your sprites

are thinking by using the THINK block,
which works just like SAY, except
creating a thought bubble.

The ASK block is in the Sensing

category because it collects
information from the player. The
player’s typed reply is stored in the
ANSWER block, which can be used
to trigger events.
10
DETECT COLLISION

11
DETECT COLLISION
Use the first TOUCHING block with an
IF THEN to check if a sprite is touching
the mouse-pointer, the Stage edge or
another sprite. (Code to right would
go on a ball sprite).

Or use TOUCHING COLOR with a

REPEAT block to check if a sprite is
touching a specific color in a sprite
or backdrop. Click the color in
the block then click a color on the
Stage to select it.

You can also check if a specific

color of a sprite is touching
another color, such as a player’s
white shoes touching a red
platform or hands on a ladder.

Use the BOUNCE ON EDGE BLOCK to detect the Stage edge and change direction.
11
KEEP SCORE

12
KEEP SCORE
No blocks will appear in the Data category until you
click the Make a Variable button.

Each variable must have a

unique name. Choose For all
sprites to make it available to
other sprites in your game.

Most games begin with a score of zero when the

Green Flag is clicked. You can set a global variable
from any sprite or even from the Stage. If you choose
For this sprite only, that creates a variable whose
value can only be read or changed by this sprite.

Use a CHANGE VARIABLE block

inside an IF THEN to add to, or
subtract from, any variable by a set
amount. (Such code will usually go
inside a FOREVER or REPEAT block.)
Double click the Score on the Stage to change how it is displayed to players.
12
DISPLAY HEALTH/LIVES

13
DISPLAY HEALTH/LIVES
To display data such as Health and Lives graphically you must
create a sprite with several costumes.

Create a variable
for each character
and choose For all
sprites so both the
player and display
sprites can use the
variable.

Use at start of game for initial value.

Place these in a FOREVER

block on a sprite to change
a variable under a specific
condition (i.e. getting hit).

Place these inside a

FOREVER block for each
value (would need 5 if
using 5 health values) to
update during the game.

13
CLONE SPRITES

14
CLONE SPRITES
Use the CREATE CLONE OF block to
make a copy of a sprite. Here the
Spaceship makes a clone of the
Laser sprite when space is pressed.

WHEN I START AS A CLONE executes

blocks as soon as the clone is
created. While DELETE THIS CLONE
removes the clone and stops scripts.

The code to the right shows how to

create 21 clones in 3 rows and 7 columns
(like the invaders). Change the X and Y
position to spread them out.
14
TRACK INVENTORY

15
TRACK INVENTORY

Create a list to store multiple

values, such as items a player
accumulates during a game.
Make it available For all sprites.

Use the ADD TO block to store new items

in the list. If using a TOUCHING block to
detect items, be sure to hide the item
as soon as a character collides with it or
multiple copies may be added to the list.

Check the contents of a list by

using the CONTAINS block.

You can allow players to show the inventory by

using the SHOW block (use HIDE to hide it).

15
 BROADCAST MESSAGES
Use BROADCAST blocks to send messages between two sprites (such as two
characters alternating speech) or to trigger several sprites to start running
scripts at exactly the same time. The Stage can also send and receive broadcast
messages.

Place the BROADCAST

block on a sprite, choose
new message and type a
descriptive name.

Place WHEN I RECEIVE blocks on

each of the sprites you want to
respond to the new broadcast.

If you use the BROADCAST AND WAIT block the blocks snapped beneath it will
not execute until all the sprites running WHEN I RECEIVE finish their scripts.
16
1) TITLE/OVERVIEW 9) ADD SOUND
2) CHANGE BACKDROP 10) SAY/THINK/ASK
3) ADD SPRITES 11) DETECT COLLISION
4) MOVE SPRITE 12) KEEP SCORE
5) SWITCH COSTUMES 13) DISPLAY HEALTH/LIVES
6) CHANGE DIRECTION 14) CLONE SPRITES
7) KEYBOARD CONTROL 15) TRACK INVENTORY
8) MOUSE CONTROL 16) BROADCAST/INDEX

With Scratch you can create your own interactive stories, games, and
animations. Use Scratch online at scratch.mit.edu or download from
scratch.mit.edu/scratch2download. Scratch is developed by the Lifelong
Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.