In this hands-on activity, students will design and program their own side-scrolling game where a car races toward the finish line — but must jump over lava to survive! 🚗🌋

Perfect for beginner to intermediate coders, this step-by-step guide walks students through creating a complete game from start to finish.

🎮 What Students Will Learn

Students will:

✔ Create a new project in MakeCode Arcade
✔ Create and use variables
✔ Set up sprites and tilemaps
✔ Apply gravity and acceleration
✔ Program jump mechanics using controller buttons
✔ Detect collisions with lava (lose condition)
✔ Detect reaching the finish line (win condition)
✔ Test and debug their game

This project introduces important coding concepts in a highly engaging and visual way.

📘 What’s Included

• 11-page illustrated step-by-step instruction guide
• Clear screenshots for every stage of the project
• Tilemap setup instructions (including custom size settings)
• Jump button coding instructions
• Lava collision (Game Over) code
• Finish line (Win condition) code
• Link to a completed example solution for teacher reference
  

Students are guided through:

• Setting background images
• Creating a scrolling tilemap (255 x 8)
• Designing roads and lava obstacles
• Programming gravity and horizontal movement
• Adding win/lose conditions
  

🖥 Requirements

• Access to MakeCode Arcade (free website)
• Internet connection
• Optional: Student sign-in to save progress
  

No prior advanced coding experience required!

👩‍🏫 Perfect For

• Upper Elementary Coding
• Middle School Computer Science
• STEM Classes
• Coding Clubs
• Substitute Plans
• Early Finishers
• Intro to Game Design Units