FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Hassan Kariem
FRIT 7430: Instructional Design
Stage 3,Understanding by Design
Fall 2012

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Title of Unit

Core Platform
Gaming Principles
with Game Salad

Grade Level

8th Grade

Standard:
Nets standard 6 : Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. Understand and use technology systems
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively
c. Troubleshoot systems and applications
d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Understandings:
Students will understand that:
1) The most essential element of game design is the relationship between objects.
2) The location of objects is essential in any game design but especially pertinent in
game design for ipads and other touch screen devices.
3) Most troubleshooting of game mechanic issues are rooted in the defined
relationships between objects. Remember that the game will not do/or will do what
the designer tells it to. Nothing more nothing less.
4) It is essential to save frequently and to save working versions of your game
periodically, especially before major changes.
5) How to organize objects utilizing concepts of object oriented programming such as
if-then statements and variables.
6) Understanding the value of mathematical concepts from geometry and algebra relate
to object oriented programming.

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

7) Be able to explain how relationships between objects affect game functionality.
8) How to make sure that game is designed so that it has replay value to others.
9) How to apply gaming design principles in other gaming types/genres?

Essential Questions:
Overarching Questions:
What are good video game design
principles?

Topical Questions:
EQ 1: How do you implement and modify an
object using Game Salad?

What steps must be taken to effectively

identify problems when troubleshooting
functionality issues?

EQ2: How do you test your game using Game

Salad?

EQ3: How do you define controls (keyboard

What are the essential elements that indicate input, screen touct etc...) in game salad?
optimal replay value and functionality?
EQ4: How do you import outside elements
(sprites, pictures, sounds) into Game Salad?
EQ5: How do you create and modify the
stage or level that your characters interact
with?
EQ6: How do you create a menu, start, and
game over screen using game salad?
EQ7: How do you control where the camera
is on screen?
EQ8: How do you create and indicate lives,
life bars, and damage for your characters?
EQ9: How do you use timers and counters in
game design?
E10: What are the methods that can be used
to signal a scenario (change of screens)
change in Game Salad?

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences

Week 1

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Type week 1 activities here (use page 26 of the UbD text as an example)
Monday:
1. VGD Entry Conversation: Teacher will lead a discussion session asking students
about their favorite games. The teacher will then document these games on a
whiteboard, chalkboard, or something similar so that all students can see at least 5 of
the games that they found desirable.(Logical-quantitative entry point) W, H
2. Group Discussion 1: The teacher will assign groups; the groups will then asses one
of the games we chose in the VGD Entry Convo. The goal of this discussion is for the
groups to pinpoint the graphical and functionality elements that they feel make the
game entraining. They will analyze these elements logically in an attempt to weed
out the most essential factors of the chosen games desirability and replay value.
Each group is responsible for documenting at least four different elements that they
feel that make the game that they chose a great game as well as an explanation of
why they feel that these elements are important. They will also choose a member of
the group who will be responsible for presenting this information in assignment
3.(logical-quantitative entry point, Esthetic entry point) E-2, R, T
3. VGD element presentation: One member from each group is responsible for
sharing their respective groups interpretations of what elements make the game
they chose fun. That member will express the groups reasoning for selecting these
elements. After the presentation the student will write their elements on the
board.(Narrational entry point) T,O
4. 10 minutes with Mario and Reflection: The groups will then be assigned a
computer. They will select a game tester and begin to play the game Super Mario
Bros. While the tester is playing the rest of the group is responsible for identifying
and comparing the elements that the class has decided were essential with the Mario
game. After 10 minutes of play the class will come together and have another
discussion via question and answer session to decide if the elements that they chose
prior to the hands on experience with Super Mario Bros are still relevant and then as
a class they will revamp a final list that will become the classes foundation for video
game design for the remainder of the course. (Foundational entry point,
Experimental Entry point) H, E ,R
Tuesday:
1. Pre-test and Group setting: Students will take a pre test to assess their technical
skill level and personality traits. After the instructor evaluates the test they will
separate the class into groups based on the test results. The groups will then be
provided time to begin to identify group roles. (Lead Game Designer, Game Tester/
Debugger, Story Developer, Marketing etc). The group will then be assigned a
computer work station where they will develop their platform game. W, T, E-2

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

2. Introduction to Game Salad: Students will partake in a lesson guided assignment
which will introduce them to the basic concepts of Game Salad:

Implementing Objects
Defining Object Relationships
Implementing User Interface

During the course of this lesson the students will produce a simple level with a user
controlled object that can interact with and manipulate another object on the screen.
W,E
3. Group meeting 1: Group will get together. This meeting will be to begin to think
about the type of platform game that they would like to create. They will also begin
to decide, based on individual class work and previous group interactions, which role
each student will be tasked with. They must document their ideas for future
reference. W, T, R, O
Wednesday:
1. Introduction to Game Salad Lesson 2: Students will learn more about the basics of
game salad. At the end of the lesson they will become more familiar with how to
manipulate relationships between objects. They will also be introduced to the
concepts of Object Oriented programming and simple logical operations (if-then
statements etc.). At the end of this lesson they will have produced digital proof of
understanding. They will have produced a simple level where the user controlled
object interact with other objects W,E,O
2. Story activity 1: Each student will pick three stories and identify the main character,
the characters motivation, and the main antagonist. They will then share this
information with the rest of the class. W, H
3. Story activity 2: Each student will create their own story by simply identifying a
main character, the characters motivation, the main antagonist etc. They will then
share this information with the class. W, H, T
4. Group meeting 2: Groups will get together. This meeting will continue the
conversation from the previous day. By the end of this meeting students will have
been assigned a role. They will also begin to focus their ideas and create the actual
concept for their games story. W,T,O

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Thursday:
1. Introduction to Game Salad Lesson 3: Students will learn even more about the
basics of game salad with a focus on logical operations (if-then, for statements, etc.)
and Object Oriented Programming. During the course of this lesson students will
produce digital proof which will incorporate the skills learned. W,E,O
2. Group Activity Media Announcement/ Work Sample 1: Students will now begin
to develop the story for their game. They will document the games essential story
elements and begin to produce a mock media kit to introduce the game to their class.
At the end of this assignment they will have produced their media kit announces it to
the class. T
3. Introduction to Debugging Lesson: Students will be given a simple one level game
with instructions on how it is supposed to function. They must modify the object
relationships and code so that the game functions correctly according to the
instructions. W,E,O

4.

Class Discussion/ Technical Review: Class will participate in a Q & A session

where students will be asked to come up in front of the class and explain why and
how certain glitches occur. The instructor will provide intentionally bugged game
and students will take turns trying to pinpoint the source of the glitches in front of
the class using both their own knowledge and that of their class mates. They will
then review what they learned. The glitches in this session will focus on objects
interacting with each other correctly. W,E, R,E-2

Friday:
1. Quiz 1: Students will partake in an interactive quiz that requires them to show their
knowledge of the game developments softwares mechanics. This quiz focuses on
implementing objects and programming the relationship between user interface and
what the objects do on screen(game controls) and also programming the
relationship between the objects themselves to(objects destroying other objects,
objects functioning as platforms, backdrops, on screen buttons) E-2,O
2. Group Game Design/Work Sample 1: The group will begin to develop their game.
The beginning process of collecting sprites for characters, designing levels, and
programming will begin. This activity will continue for the remainder of the days
class period. W,T,O

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Week 2
Type week 2 activities here (use page 26 of the UbD text as an example)
Monday:
1. Level Design Class Discussion: Instructor will lead a class discussion on essential
level design elements. During this discussion the teacher will show an example of
Sonic The Hedgehog on the whiteboard and highlight key level elements like spacing,
platform placement, level diversity and game physics. W, H
2. Introduction to Game Salad Lesson 4: This guided lesson will refine object
implementation and manipulation skills. At the end of this lesson students will have
provided digital proof of concepts learned. W,E,O
3. Group Activity: Students will get with their groups and begin to preconceive the
three levels that they will be using for the groups platform game. Students will have
to produce a rough draft of a blueprint to the levels they plan to create. W,T,O
Tuesday:
1. Level Design Game Salad Activity 1: Students will partake in a lesson guided
assignment which will teach them concepts of level design:

Gravity
Acceleration and other Game Physics
Level Scrolling and Parallaxing
Camera Controls

During the course of this lesson the students will produce a level that contains all of
these elements W,E,O
2. Group Meeting 4: Students will get together with their groups and begin to finalize
their level blueprint. The student(s) responsible for game design will begin to work
on their game by implementing characters and refining game controls. This will
continue for the remainder of the day. W ,T,O

3.

Class Technical Review: Class will participate in a Q & A session where students
will be asked to come up and explain why and how certain glitches occur. The
instructor will provide intentionally bugged game and students will take turns trying
to pinpoint the source of the glitches in front of the class using both their own
knowledge and that of their class mates. The glitches in this session will be
associated with game environment (Level scrolling, parallaxing, etc.) and
physics(gravity, acceleration, etc.) W,E R,E-2

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Wednesday:
1. Game Setting Activity: This activity will have students analyze levels from 3
popular platform games (Mario, Sonic, and Crash Bandicoot). The students will have
to provide a short narrative for each level played and explain what they feel the level
designer had in mind when they created the level. They will have to rate how
effectively the level ties in with the story of the game. W,H,E-2
2. Class Discussion Video Game Bosses: The teacher will lead a class discussion on
the subject of video game antagonist and bosses. Students will provide key elements
that they feel make a boss effective and as a class they will decide and focus on the
most essential elements of a video game boss and include this info into the official
class standards. W,H, R
3. Power Flower Activity: Each student will be tasked with creating 5 power ups with
a coinciding ability. They will have to give graphical representation of the power ups
as well as a detailed description of the abilities that they provide. The game
designer(s) of the group will have to describe in detail how they would program the
effects of the power-up. W,H,E-2
Thursday:
1. Introduction to Game Salad Lesson 5: Students will learn more about level
development in Game Salad. This lesson will focus on game physics, camera control,
and refining game play parameters. At the end of this lesson students will provide
digital proof that they comprehend and can perform the technical task learned.
W,E,O
2. Introduction to Debugging Lesson 2: Students will be given a two level game with
instructions on how it is supposed to function. They must modify the code so that the
game functions correctly according to the instructions. The glitches in this lesson
will pertain to level design elements. W,E,O
3. Group Meeting: Group will spend the remainder of the period working on their
game. The focus should be on implementing characters, perfecting controls and
designing levels. Marketing will begin to design artwork for game cover. W,T,O
Friday:
1. Game Salad Class Reflection: Students will participate in an Instructor lead Q & A
session. Students will be placed in their groups. Each group will represent a team.
The teams will participate in a quiz bowl style competition reviewing the technical
skills they learned in Game Salad, tenants of the class standards, and general video
game trivia. The winning team will receive 5 bonus points towards their final project.
W,H, R,E-2

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

2. Group Game Design/Work Sample 2: The group will continue to work on their
game. The remainder of the period will be utilized for game design. By the end of this
period the groups will have to provide a working rough draft of the game that
includes at least 3 playable levels. These levels should contain at least 2 different
enemy types and one working power up. At this point the controls should be in
almost perfect working condition. W,T,O
Week 3
Type week 3 activities here (use page 26 of the UbD text as an example)
Monday:
1. Quiz 2: Students will partake in an interactive quiz that will require them to show their
knowledge of the Game Salad. This quiz will focus on manipulating the game
environment to simulate physics necessary for platform games (gravity, parallax
screens, camera control, speed momentum, acceleration). E-2,O
2. Introduction to Game Salad Lesson 6: Students will learn how to implement and
change game variables by the use of counters and timers. This lesson will focus on how
to use these elements for lives, scores, and to simulate enemy AI. At the end of the
lesson the student will provide digital prove that they understand the technical
concepts. W,E,O
3. Group Meeting: Students will get together and continue to work on their platform
game. Marketing will add final touches to video game artwork for cover. W, T,O
Tuesday:
1. Class Discussion: Instructor led reflection on the main technical themes of the class.
The instructor will review pertinent technical skills as well as answer specific
questions about each groups game. W,E, R,E-2,O
2. Group Activity: The group will continue to work on their game. This session should
focus on implementing timers, counters, lives, health etc. As well as adding the final
touches to their 5 levels. By the end of this session Marketing will have produced the
final version of the games artwork for the cover. This session will continue
throughout the remainder of the class period. W,E-2,T

Wednesday:

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

1. Quiz 3: Student will take an interactive quiz that will require them to show their
knowledge of Game Salad. This quiz will focus on implementing timers and counters
into the level for desired results ( points systems, lives, health bars, Enemy AI) R,E2,T,O
2. Class Discussion/ Artwork presentation: The marketing member(s) of the group
will share their covers with the class. They will give a short narrative to explain the
design process and answer peer questions. They are expected to be as creative as
possible when sharing their cover. The goal is to act as if they are getting consumers
hype with anticipation for their games release date. T,O
3. Class Technical Review/ Discussion: Class will participate in a Q & A session
where students will be asked to come up and explain why and how certain glitches
occur. The instructor will provide intentionally bugged game and students will take
turns trying to pinpoint the source of the glitches in front of the class using both their
own knowledge and that of their class mates. The instructor will then lead a
discussion on game organization with emphasis on scene transitions(level changing,
warps, start screens, game over screens) W, R,E-2,O
4. Group Meeting: Students will work on adding the final touches to their game. This
sessions focus is completing the beta version of the game so that there are 5
playable levels with most of the required game elements functioning (counters,
timers, lives) as well as a boss character. T,O
Thursday:
1. Group meeting: Students will spend half of the period completing their platform
game. The group should have implemented game physics, timers and counters into
their game. At this point the game should at least have 5 unique levels, game physics
(gravity, acceleration, parallax screens etc.), 4 different enemy types, 1 boss
character and at least two different types of platforms. The game must also show
efficient use of counters and timers (lives, health bars, score, enemy AI). At the end of
this period they should submit a beta version of their game to their instructor. T,O
2. Peer Review: The students will spend the remainder of the class period playing
other groups beta version games. They will document what they like and dont like
about other groups games. This information will be given to each group at the end of
the class and time will be allotted for changes to be made based on class input if
needed. R,E-2,T,O
Friday:
1. Role Reflection: Students will be asked to define their own role in their group and
explicitly detail what they did. They will then critique and define their group
members roles as well. They will be asked to give their fellow group members scores
based on a grading rubric that will be provided by instructor. R,E-2,T,O

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

2. Group Activity Gold Version submission: Students will be give time to add the
finishing touches to their games. After the allotted time they must submit a gold
version of the game: Game should be improved per suggestion given during Peer
Review. Sounds and Music should be implemented properly. Game Requirement
minimum is a 5 level game with at least 4 unique enemy types and one Boss
Character. The game should have a Start screen with a menu and game instructions,
a game over screen with the ability to start the game over internally, as well as the
ability to pause game play. R,E-2,T,O
3. Final Peer Review: Students will have played all other games in the class and are
asked to personally reflect on the factors that they liked and those that they disliked
in other groups games. They will also be asked to leave a detailed description of
these factors as well as suggestions for improvement. This will not be shared with
other groups but will be used by instructor to better define the factors necessary to
make a platform game with high replay value. R,E-2,T,O

Notes to the Instructor

Clearly codes each activity with WHERETO: I made sure that I utilized the WHERETO to
code each activity. I also used a pretest in week one on Tuesday to assess the students
technical skills before they started working on their platform game.
Alignment is clearly demonstrated: I made sure that my activities were aligned with my
essential questions, understandings, and the standards. For example Understanding #3
coincides with the Class Technical Review activities and both tie in to the second Essential
Question.
Utilizes Gardners strategy to provide different Entry Points: I clearly labeled the
activities of week one to show how each activity type fits the different learning needs of
students. Since my lesson is organized so that each activity type repeats on consecutive
weeks I only labeled the first week.
Provides numerous opportunities for students to RETHINK big ideas: There are many
lessons that require students to reflect and rethink what they are doing and have done. For
example the 10 minutes with Mario assignment requires them to revaluate tenants that
they thought made a game fun and compare them to a classic successful video game.
Includes the use of technology in a meaningful way: Since this course requires students
to create a platform game technology is the most meaningful aspect of the lesson. Through
this course students will use computers to program and design their game, printers to print
out game artwork, and smart boards to share debugging knowledge with the rest of the
class during class technical reviews.

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

Assignment is organized: My assignment is organized pinpointing exactly what
assignments and activities are supposed to be completed on specific days. It also gives
detailed information on what the students should take away from each activity,

Stage 3 Scoring Rubric

(0 Points)
1. Does not clearly
communicate
WHERETO for learning
activities

(3 Points)
Codes some learning
activities with
WHERETO

Clearly codes each activity

with WHERETO

There is evidence of
alignment between some
of the instructional
strategies, standards, and
understandings of the
unit.

Alignment is clearly
demonstrated between
instructional strategies,
standards, and
understandings of the unit.

Fails to provide a pretest

for learners.
2. Alignment is not
demonstrated between
instructional strategies,
standards, and
understandings of the
unit.

(5 Points)

Includes a pretest to check for

prerequisite skills and
knowledge.

Matches all essential

questions, understandings,
skills, and knowledge with a
corresponding instructional
strategy.
3. Instruction has one
global starting point for
all learners.
No evidence of an
attempt at
differentiation

Utilizes Gardners
strategy to provide
different Entry Points.
Evidence of an attempt at
differentiation exists, but
differentiation is not
illustrated using labeling.

Utilizes Gardners strategy to

provide different Entry
Points to meet the needs of
all types of intelligences.
Clearly labels the parts of
the plan that illustrate
differentiation

Your
Score

FRIT 7430: UbD Stage 3 Assignment

4. Fails to provide
opportunities for
students to RETHINK
ideas, REFLECT, and to
REVISE work.
5. Does not indicate the use
of technology in a
meaningful way
6. Assignment is not
organized

Provides opportunities
for students to RETHINK
big ideas, REFLECT on
progress, and REVISE
their work.
Includes the use of
technology

Assignment somewhat
organized

Assignment Instructions
not followed

Most assignment
instructions followed

Several errors in
grammar and form,
which distracted the
reader

A few errors in grammar

and form which
distracted the reader

Your Total Score

Provides numerous
opportunities for students to
RETHINK big ideas, REFLECT
on progress, and to REVISE
work.
Includes the use of technology
in a meaningful way.
Off the shelf resources are
properly referenced
Assignment is organized
Assignment Instructions
followed
No errors in grammar or form
that distracted the reader.

/30