Makecode Arcade
Beginner
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+170 XP
Pupils work on their own device

Studio: Galaxy Ghosts

Students build Galaxy Ghosts in MakeCode Arcade step by step, adding a player, falling enemies with a speed variable, projectiles, scoring, a status bar and damage, then rebalance one value so the game feels hard but fair.

Teacher Class Feed

Load previous activity

    1 - Start: What We're Building ~4 mins

    Illustration for Start: what we're buildingToday you are coding in MakeCode Arcade. You will build Galaxy Ghosts at your device: a space shooter with falling ghosts, a speed variable, shots, score, a health bar and damage.

    You can already move sprites and run a project. Before you build, think: what might make the ghosts get harder as the game goes on?

    You will predict, build step by step, run, and fix as you go. Later you will change one number so the game feels hard but fair.

    2 - The Plan: Six Parts to Build ~2 mins

    Galaxy Ghosts has six parts:

    1. A player that moves left and right.
    2. Ghosts that appear at the top in random places and fall.
    3. A speed variable so you can change how fast they fall.
    4. Shots that hit them.
    5. A score for each hit.
    6. A health bar that takes damage and ends the game.

    Run it after every part.


    3 - Start a New Project ~2 mins

    Open the MakeCode Arcade website using the link below and create a new project. You can call the project whatever you want.

    https://arcade.makecode.com

    4 - Create Your Player ~2 mins

    First let's create our player sprite.

    Add the following code and choose the blue space ship sprite:

    let mySprite: Sprite = null
    mySprite = sprites.create(img`
        . . . . . . . c d . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . c d . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . c d . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . c b . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . f f . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . c 6 . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . f f . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . . 8 6 . . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . 8 8 9 8 . . . . . . 
        . . . . . . 8 6 9 8 . . . . . . 
        . . . . . c c c 8 8 8 . . . . . 
        . . . . 8 8 6 6 6 9 8 8 . . . . 
        . . 8 f f f c c e e f f 8 8 . . 
        . 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 9 6 8 8 . 
        8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 9 6 6 8 8 
        8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 9 6 8 8 
        `, SpriteKind.Player)
    

    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
    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
    🍪 Our website uses cookies to make your browsing experience better. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more