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How to make your first simple game in Scratch

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GM

GameStarter_Maya

Posted on July 26, 2025 • Beginner

🎮 Help me create my first game!

Hi everyone! I’m super new to Scratch and would love some help creating a simple, fun game. I’m still learning how to use these block categories:

  • Operations - Math and logic blocks
  • Variables - Storing and changing values
  • Sensing - Detecting touches and interactions

I don’t need anything too complex - just a cute little game that I can be proud of! Any ideas or step-by-step guidance would be amazing. Thanks for reading! 🙏

GD

GameDev_Teacher

Replied 2 hours later • ⭐ Best Answer

Hi @GameStarter_Maya! I’d love to help you create your first game! Let’s make a fun “Star Collector” game that uses all the blocks you mentioned. Here’s a complete guide:

🌟 Game Concept: Star Collector

You’ll control a character that follows your mouse and collects falling stars for points!

flowchart TD A[🚀 Game Start] --> B[Player appears on screen] B --> C[Stars start falling from top] C --> D[Player follows mouse cursor] D --> E{Player touches star?} E -->|Yes| F[🌟 +1 Point!] E -->|No| G[Continue playing] F --> H[Play sound effect] H --> I[Star disappears] I --> J[New star appears] G --> K{Star reaches bottom?} K -->|Yes| L[Star disappears] K -->|No| D J --> D L --> M[New star appears] M --> D style A fill:#e1f5fe style F fill:#e8f5e8 style H fill:#fff3e0

🎯 Step 1: Create Your Player Character

First, let’s make a character that follows your mouse:

    when flag clicked
set [Score v] to [0]
forever
point towards [mouse-pointer v]
move (3) steps
end

What this does:

  • Variables: Sets score to 0 when game starts
  • Sensing: Detects mouse position
  • Operations: Uses the number 3 for movement speed

⭐ Step 2: Create Falling Stars

Now let’s make stars that fall from the top of the screen:

    when flag clicked
forever
go to x: (pick random (-240) to (240)) y: (180)
show
repeat until <touching [edge v]?>
change y by (-3)
if <touching [Player v]?> then
change [Score v] by (1)
play sound [pop v]
hide
stop [this script v]
end
end
hide
wait (0.5) seconds
end

What this does:

  • Operations: Uses random numbers and math for positioning
  • Sensing: Detects when star touches player or edge
  • Variables: Increases score when collected

🎨 Step 3: Make It Look Great

Add some visual polish to your game:

    // Add this to your player sprite
when flag clicked
set size to (80) %
forever
if <touching [Star v]?> then
change size by (10)
wait (0.1) seconds
change size by (-10)
end
end

🔊 Step 4: Add Sound Effects

Make your game more engaging with sounds:

    // In your star sprite, when collected:
play sound [pop v]

// Add background music to stage:
when flag clicked
forever
play sound [music v] until done
end

🏆 Step 5: Add a Game Over Condition

Let’s add some challenge with obstacles:

    // Create a new sprite for obstacles
when flag clicked
forever
go to x: (pick random (-240) to (240)) y: (pick random (-100) to (100))
point in direction (pick random (-180) to (180))
repeat (100)
move (2) steps
if <on edge, bounce> then
turn right (15) degrees
end
if <touching [Player v]?> then
say [Game Over!] for (2) seconds
stop [all v]
end
end
end

📊 Step 6: Display Your Score

Show the score on screen:

    // Create a text sprite for score display
when flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (150)
forever
set [text v] to (join [Score: ] (Score))
end

🚀 Bonus Features (Try These Next!)

Once you’ve got the basic game working, try adding:

Power-ups:

    // Special golden stars worth more points
if <(pick random (1) to (10)) = [1]> then
set [color v] effect to (50)
// This star is worth 5 points instead of 1!
end

Difficulty Increase:

    // Make stars fall faster as score increases
set [fall speed v] to ((Score) / (10))
change y by (0 - (3 + (fall speed)))

Lives System:

    when flag clicked
set [Lives v] to [3]

// When hit by obstacle:
change [Lives v] by (-1)
if <(Lives) = [0]> then
say [Game Over!] for (2) seconds
stop [all v]
end

🎮 Complete Game Summary

Your finished game will have:

  • ✅ A player that follows the mouse
  • ✅ Falling stars to collect
  • ✅ Score system with variables
  • ✅ Sound effects
  • ✅ Moving obstacles for challenge
  • ✅ Game over condition

This game uses all the block types you wanted to learn - operations for math, variables for scoring, and sensing for detecting touches! Have fun building it! 🎉

GM

GameStarter_Maya

Replied 1 hour later

@GameDev_Teacher This is absolutely perfect! Thank you so much! 🌟

I just finished the basic version and it’s working great! The star collection is so satisfying. Quick question - how do I make the stars sparkle or have a glowing effect?

VE

VisualEffects_Pro

Replied 30 minutes later

@GameStarter_Maya Great question! Here’s how to add sparkle effects to your stars:

    // Add this to your star sprite
when flag clicked
forever
set [brightness v] effect to (pick random (-50) to (50))
set [color v] effect to (pick random (0) to (200))
wait (0.2) seconds
end

This creates a beautiful twinkling effect! You can also try the “ghost” effect for a glowing look! ✨

VB

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