TEACHER HANDBOOK

CONTENTS

1. Original competition brief

2. Weekly Workshops
3. ​Booking support slots for your student teams
4. Getting setup with MakeCode Arcade
5. Starter lessons and activities
6. Code examples
7. ​Judging Rubric
8. Game Submissions
ORIGINAL BRIEF MAKECODE COMPETITION – BRIEF
1) As 2023 is the “Year of Sustainability” as designated
by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, UAE President,
the theme of all games should be around
sustainability

2) Students should create games based on the concepts

of; keeping the city clean, recycling, local farming and
energy production

3) Games will need to be playable so that a judging

panel can review and score

4) The 5 finalist games and the teams who created

them will be invited on stage at GameExpo to talk
about their creations

5) Students will be asked to make their games in

MakeCode Arcade (Block Coding)
 JUDGING CRITERIA
1) Students teams should be made of 4 students

2) Each game will be judged on a set of criteria which

can be found in the section of this document
“Judging Rubric”

3) Student teams will need to document the process

and write a presentation about their game concept
and key game elements

4) Each game will need to have 1 character, a story, a

scoring mechanism and an end result/objective to
complete
 TEAM ROLES

• Artist — Leads the creation of the Tilemap and the

Sprites

• Designer — Leads the development of the

introduction to or backstory for the game and the
game concept

• Engineer — Leads the development of the game play

action

• Project Manager/Marketer – Documents the process,

organizes team meetings, create material for
submission
 COMPETITION SPECIFICS
1) A cash prize equivalent/hardware for the top 3
student teams will be available

2) Once the games have been submitted and checked

for playability (i.e. do they work) they would be
uploaded and made available on a public listing on
the DEF website

3) The top 5 scoring games from the judging process

would be invited to GameExpo
 MAKECODE COMPETITION TIMELINE

Submission Finalists
Deadline Notified
School
Briefing
Webinars Judging
School Begins FINALS
Contact & DAY
Setup Online
Support
Begins

3rd April 10th Apr 2nd 8th 6th 8th 13th 21st
May May June June June June
LIVE FINALS – MAKECODE CEREMONY (JUNE 21)
TIME SLOT ACTIVITY
12.15pm-12.30pm Introduce MakeCode
competition
12.30pm-1.20pm Game demos/videos

10 minute slot per team

with up to a 5 minute
video of gameplay and
then 5 minutes for a
short presentation /
Q&A with the team
members
1.20pm-1.40pm Awards & Presentations
1.40pm Finish

KEY POINT: The MakeCode Ceremony would

follow the esports tournament which is why
the timing starts from 12.15pm.

Timing is subject to change.

WEEKLY WORKSHOPS

Each week the MakeCode Specialists will be doing a live 1 hour workshop focusing on different key areas of
MakeCode and how to add things into a game. These sessions will be recorded and made available to any student
teams who are unable to connect live. Calendar invites will be sent out each week.

Week 2: Workshop 2 - Deep Dive into MakeCode Week 3: Workshop 3 - Canva Demo Week 4: Workshop 4 - Prepping for Submission
• Session 1 (1 hour) and MakeCode Recap • Session 1 (1 hour)
• Address any questions regarding the • Session 1 (1 hour) • Address any last-minute questions or concerns
homework and Playbook • Address any questions regarding the task or regarding the task or game development
• Presentation on MakeCode's features and game development • Presentation best practices and guidelines
tools • Demonstration of Canva for designing visuals • Tips for effectively showcasing the task or
• Group discussion and sharing of ideas for the and game assets game and its relevance to the theme
task or game • Recap of Make Code concepts, with additional
hints and tips Homework: Participants should finalize their
Homework: Participants should begin working on • Group discussion on progress and challenges game and prepare their presentations for the final
their game using MakeCode, following the faced during development session.
guidelines from the Playbook.
Homework: Participants should continue working
on their game using MakeCode and Canva,
incorporating the new tips and techniques
learned.
SUPPORT SLOTS

MakeCode Specialists are available to support your student teams in several different ways.

- Booking a call to get input or support around a key topic, piece of functionality or problem
- Using chat messaging on Teams to ask questions and get responses from the specialists

A support call covering all your student teams is available once per week to enable us to provide support to all
schools participating in the competition. In some circumstances, if slots are available, it may be possible to book an
additional call in a week.

We suggest attempting to book slots when your students are working together in lunchtimes, in a lesson or during
an ECA.
SUPPORT SLOTS

Real-time chat messaging support will be available Mon-Fri between 12.30-1.30pm. Any chat messages sent
outside of this time will be answered by the MakeCode specialists when they are available but you can submit a
question at any time. MakeCode specialists will respond with answers or guidance (this could also be short video
messages).

Students are encouraged to ask questions in the chat so they can get feedback and guidance to continue moving
forward with the creation of their game.

Each school will have a dedicated channel/chat on Teams that all your student teams can use to ask questions.

Slots for a support call / workshop can be booked here -

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/[email protected]/bookings/
GETTING SETUP

How to sign in to MakeCode Arcade

The Cloud Sync feature needs to know your identity

so that it can store your data in the cloud. With Cloud
Sync, when you’re signed into MakeCode, your
projects can be saved in the cloud where they’re
accessible from anywhere.
1. Navigate to https://arcade.makecode.com
2. Click the sign in button in the upper right corner Watch this video for a
to log into MakeCode. demonstration of creating a
Microsoft Account and signing in to
3. Select Sign in. MakeCode.
STARTER LESSONS

If your students are new to using MakeCode Arcade there is a link below to starter lessons and activities to help
them become more familiar with how to build in Block coding and how to create some simple projects and game
activities. The second link is for you as a teacher if you want to set up a workshop session to help them plan their
game concepts.

Starter Activities available here -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/djx25i119fzcu5h/About%20the%20Beginner%E2%80%99s%20Guide%20to%2
0Arcade%20Games.pdf?dl=0

Game Jam (45 minutes to 1 hour 30 session for game concepts and design)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cpb7bq3lb7ar00t/Game%20Jam%20in%20a%20Box%20Teacher%20Preparation
.pdf?dl=0
CODE EXAMPLES

We have prepared a document with some code examples of

different game mechanics that your students can replicate
and use as part of their games.

Download Code Examples Doc –

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eyr8fd8aw5fol7r/Blocks%2
0Catalog.pdf?dl=0

This document should be shared with all student teams.

JUDGING RUBRIC

All game submissions will be judged against the same rubric with consideration for a number of key categories.

Criteria 1 - Poor 2 - Fair 3 - Good 4 - Excellent Weighting

Gameplay No clear gameplay or Basic gameplay lacks Engaging gameplay with Highly engaging with
20%
mechanics variety some depth diverse mechanics
Theme Theme is apparent and Theme is strong and well-
No clear theme Theme is vague or unclear 25%
consistent integrated
Completeness Incomplete or non- Barely functional many Mostly complete with Fully complete and
15%
functional issues minor issues polished
Visually Engaging Poor visuals lacking Adequate visuals minimal Good visuals appealing Excellent visuals cohesive
10%
cohesion design design design
Design No clear design or Well-designed with clear Exceptional design
Basic design lacks details 10%
structure structure attention to detail
Fun Mostly enjoyable and Highly entertaining and
Not enjoyable or engaging Mildly entertaining 10%
engaging immersive
Presentation Poorly presented and Adequate presentation Well-presented and Highly engaging and
10%
unengaging with minimal engagement engaging professional presentation
GAME SUBMISSION

Before the submission deadline each student team will need to submit their game files and supporting material by
uploading it to the directory provided.

Details of how and where to upload the game and supporting files will be provided half-way through the process.

Student teams need to remember to include the following:

1. Game files and creative assets

2. Document that includes details of the game concept, objective and how the game is meant to be played
3. 3 minute video of the game being played and commentary about the game concept, why it meets the brief
about sustainability, how they worked as a team to create the game, what challenges they faced, and how they
overcame those challenges.
FULL GUIDANCE

This Teacher Handbook is your quick start guide and student teams have a separate document they can utilise,
this is linked below.

This document for student teams includes links to video tutorials for different game mechanics on the MakeCode
website, skill maps and activities for students and “HOW TO” guides to do different things inside MakeCode.

Access the full document here –

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p6a8uc1v6sn4hr/Student%20Guide.pdf?dl=0