📘 Lesson Plan | Self-Directed or Distance Learning
This lesson plan is designed to be used in a distance learning format, where students can go through the content in a self-directed manner.
Lesson Introduction
- Inform your students that you’ll be assigning them a video game development project.
- Ensure that students have access to a computer to design their game. If students have access to a computer, but do not have an internet connection at home, Betabox can mail them the software on a flash drive for $2. Email hello@betaboxlearning.com to request this if need be.
- As the teacher, sign into your Student Account as well as your Educator Account to follow along with the Quest.
Student Setup and GDevelop Access
- Instruct students to navigate to myBetabox and register an account.
- Visit myBetabox
- Navigate to the Video Game Design project
- Follow the Quest sections by beginning at Welcome to Betabox Game Development! and continuing with Start next stage
- The table of contents can be found on the left-hand side
Self-Directed Project Summary
In the self-directed online content, students will work through the following steps:
- Reading about game engines and open source software.
- Getting started with GDevelop, including software downloading, setup, and controls.
- Playing the Betabox Basics game and learning about variables, loops, and IF/THEN statements. Students will understand where these coding concepts turn up within the Betabox Basics game.
- Basic tools: learning more complex aspects of GDevelop including customizing the design of characters, adding text, and creating platforms.
- Advanced tools: learning about making enemies, coins, and options within GDevelop to make other types of games beyond platformers.
- Learning about the GAME (EVENTS) tab, where programming conditionals can be created.
- Bonus: Video Game Trivia.
See Student Work
If you would like to see your students’ games, they can save and export their work with a link that can be accessed by you (and others). Instruct students to sign up for a free GDevelop Account. When they’re ready to share their games, they will click the Project Manager (top left button) above the Start Page icon.
Save and then select Export from the drop down menu.
Select Web (upload online) to generate a link. Ask your students to send you theirs!
These steps can all be completed by students on their own time. Then, once students have acquired these essential GDevelop skills, they can be tasked with making their own game. Click into the next section of this lesson plan for ideas!