A Pong Game - programmed with Scratch

Different versions of the ever popular Pong game are available on Scratch. Here’s the link from ScratchEd: http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/scratch-lesson-7-the-pong-game.pdf. The following lesson plan using Scratch is one that I created for our Grade 5 students, taking inspiration from this sample code for Pong.

Given the code for an interactive Pong video game, the students edit the program to create multiple versions of the game with varying difficulty levels. The aim is to gain familiarity with the Scratch software platform and learn how to create games/ programs that involve user interaction. The students learn to modify the various facets of the code, and in the process learn about reactive programming, conditionals, loops, sprites, backgrounds and variables. They discuss how the variables in the given program can be used to model the different factors (forces, energy, orientation, type of materials, etc.) involved in the movements of a bouncing ball.

Platform

We use the S4A (Scratch for Arduino) platform for the Grade 5 students in our school. This project is intended to provide an introduction to this software platform before the kids start using it as the IDE for Arduino. S4A is based on Scratch from MIT and is quite similar to it. Note that in this particular assignment, we do not use the Arduino.

The sample code for Pong can be found in the Examples/Games folder in S4A.

Computer Science Concepts

Reactive programing

Forever loops

Conditionals

Common Core Standards

Math Standards:

• Variables
• Angular measurements
• Coordinate geometry for a 2D plane

NGSS Science Standards:

• Forces & interactions involved in a bouncing ball

The Lesson Plan

The aim is to learn about the basics of the Scratch/S4A platform in this assignment:

• open, edit, save & close a project
• sprites & backgrounds
• the Scratch instruction set

The students read the given code and understand the various programming components that are involved in the design of the game. The factors that affect the movement of the pong ball are included as variables in the code. Students learn how modifying them can change the way the game is designed. The difficulty level of the game can be altered by modifying the variables. A discussion on how the variables in the program represent the different factors (forces, energy, orientation, type of materials, etc.) that govern the movement of the pong ball can round up the class.

This assignment also provides a first hand look at the use of conditionals and forever loops. Reactive programming, where the sprites react to various key presses or mouse movement is also learned.

Slides

I put together a set of slides for this lesson as I felt that it might be easier for the kids to tag along with the lecture, by programming on their computers. They can store the different versions of their program under different file names. 

The Pong Game PPT

Programming Assignment

Modify the code for the sprites to create different versions of the game, as suggested below.

Paddle Sprite:

The code for the Paddle Sprite in the sample code is designed to follow the mouse/cursor horizontally.

1. Can you modify the code for the Paddle Sprite so that it follows the mouse pointer vertically on the screen?
2. Modify the code for the Paddle Sprite so that it follows the mouse pointer everywhere on the screen.

Ball Sprite:

Try experimenting with different values for the variables. Note the changes you see each time.

1. Use the “pen down” instruction to track the path of the ball.
2. Would the game ever take off if the starting position has the ball touching the red zone on the background?
3. Guess why the “forever loop” is used in the game.
4. Guess why the “180 - direction” is used to set the direction of the ball when it hits the paddle.
5. Guess what the “turn random angle” does. Experiment with it to increase the difficulty level of the game.
6. Can you make the ball move faster at the start of the game by changing one of the variables?
7. Can you make the ball move faster when it hits the paddle by changing one of the variables?
8. Increase the difficulty level of the game by increasing the speed & randomness of the ball.

Challenge

1. Introduce a variable to keep track of scores - you start with zero points & every time the paddle hits the ball, you get a point.
2. Can you program the paddle to be moved on the screen using the arrow keys on the keyboard, instead of the cursor?

Summary

Summarize the lesson by going over what some of the variables in the game represent. Here are a few examples:

1. When you change the speed of the ball, what does it imply about the loss/transfer of energy?
2. If the ball moves faster after hitting the paddle, what kind of material could the paddle be made of? Is it one that absorbs much of the ball’s energy?
3. The red background in the sample code makes the ball come to rest completely. Discuss the energy transfer of the ball in this case. What materials could possibly have made the pong ball come to rest on coming into contact with it?

Here’s a link with more info about the science of a pong ball, if you would like to go further with the discussions.