All About Frogger Susan Miller Scalable Game Design University of Colorado

All About FroggerSusan Miller

Scalable Game Design

University of Colorado

Why Game Design?

Motivates students Enables students to see themselves as

‘programmers’ Produces Computational Thinking Skills Enables students to understand and create

simulations Creates Problem Solvers

Frogger – How does the game work?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okm0VtF2gH8

What’s happening in the game? What are the rules?

Rules of Frogger

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

What are the NOUNS of this description?

NOUNS = AGENTS

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

Let’s Jump In

Open Agent Sheets

Click on FILE>>NEW PROJECT

Save your file as FROGGER

Let’s make a frog…

Change the depiction to a FROG

Press Clearto get an empty screen

Picture ToolsSelect

Draw

Erase

Fill

Pick Color

Filled Rectangle

Empty Rectangle

Filled Circle

Empty Circle

Nouns = AGENTS

Create the following agents:

Frog

Truck

Road

Ground

Tunnel

Create your agents

10 minutes

End

Put your agents on your worksheet

Put your agents on your worksheet

Fill in just this much

It’s time to SAVE THE WORLD!

Does your game do anything???

Rules of Frogger- What are the VERBS?

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

VERBS are ACTIONSACTIONS are CTPs

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

How do we make the frog move?

How do we make the frog move?

CTP#1: USER Control

Make the frog move

Make the frog move

Add the rest of the rules to make your frog move in other directions. TEST your game – does it work???

What makes the trucks move?

What makes the trucks move?

TEST your game – does it work???

Make the trucks appear

The creation of New AGENTS is called GENERATION

We GENERATE new agents Under what circumstances:

WHEN

HOW OFTEN

CTP #2:GENERATE

Make the trucks appear

TEST your game – does it work???

Make the trucks disappear

The elimination of AGENTS is called ABSORBTION

We ABSORB new agents Under what circumstances:

WHEN

HOW OFTEN

CTP #3:ABSORB

Make the trucks disappear

Make the trucks disappear

TEST your game – does it work???

What happens when the truck hits a frog?

CTP #4:Collision!!!!

What happens when the truck hits a frog?

Create a NEWdepiction for yourFROG

Talk to your neighbor: How can we program the frog to be squished by the truck

Program the frog to be squished by the truck

Frogger Part II: The River Scene What do we need to complete the river scene?

Remember the story: You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a

busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

What agents do we need? (Think NOUNS)

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

What agents do we need? (Think NOUNS)

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

What actions do we need? (Think VERBS)

You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

Hint: New CTP:

CTP #5TRANSPORT

Frogger: Student Handout 4

Finish your Frogger game…

If you finish early, try a challenge sheet!!