Game Makecode Arcade

Advanced

60 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

Lesson Files

+240 XP

What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC or iPad/Tablet

Prison Break

Can you escape the prison before times runs out! In this Arcade project we create a prison maze that you need to escape before the timer runs out.

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Create a new Arcade project
2 Create a sprite
3 Move with the buttons
4 Design your prison map
5 Set the walls of your map
6 Place your sprite at the start
7 Camera follow the sprite
8 Add a countdown
9 Win the game
10 Send the code to your handheld
11 Challenge
Quiz

1 - Create a new Arcade project

Go to the https://arcade.makecode.com website and create a new project.

Arcade: How to create a new project

Create a new Arcade project using the makecode.com website.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Create a sprite

Next create a sprite for your character that you will control and navigate through the maze.

Add the following code to your project and then design a character using the sprite editor.

let mySprite = sprites.create(img`
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 5 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 . 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    `, SpriteKind.Player)

Arcade: How to create a sprite in Arcade

Click on the gray box in the sprite block to open the Editor. You can choose a sprite from the Gallery or you can paint your own sprite using the Editor.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+20 XP

3 - Move with the buttons

Add a move (mySprite) with buttons block underneath the set [mySprite] to block so that you can control the movement of the sprite with the arrow buttons.

let mySprite = sprites.create(img`
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 5 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 . 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    `, SpriteKind.Player)
controller.moveSprite(mySprite)

+15 XP

4 - Design your prison map

Now add a set tilemap to block inside the on start block and map editor to draw a maze. You will need to draw:

the corridors of the maze.
the walls of the maze.
a different tile for where you start the maze.
a different tile for where you complete the maze.

Use whichever tiles you want, if the example we are using tiles from the 'Dungeon' category.

Make sure you leave a path through from the start of the maze to the end!

let mySprite = sprites.create(img`
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 5 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 7 7 . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . 7 7 7 . . . . . . . . 
    . . . . 7 7 . 7 7 . . . . . . . 
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
    `, SpriteKind.Player)
controller.moveSprite(mySprite)
tiles.setTilemap(tilemap`level2`)

+30 XP

123learn · Online learning platform

Unlock the full learning experience

You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons

Interactive activities in every lesson

Printable resources & progress tracking

Get started

Copyright Notice
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.