Retro Game Jam (ONLINE) Workshop
Beginners | 3 Weeks: 1 Hour/Week | Small Group Learning | Online

📅 When: 3-week program - Wednesday 10th, Wednesday 17th, Wednesday 24th September 2025

⏰Time: 1pm - 2pm (1-hour each week)

📍 Where: Online (Zoom or Teams)

👩‍🔬 Ages: 11 - 15 years of age (Stage 3 and Stage 4 Focussed)

🎓 Audience: Home-school or Distance Education students

💲 Price: $60 (covers all 3 lessons)

What to Expect:

Love the idea of making your own video games but not sure where to start?
In this creative online workshop, students will design and build their own retro-style arcade games using Microsoft MakeCode Arcade — a block+text coding platform designed especially for beginners, as well as intermediate coders. Familiarity with Scratch block-coding is useful, but not essential.

Retro Game Jam is a guided online workshop where students use MakeCode Arcade (a free, browser-based block+text coding platform) to design and build their own retro-style video games over three sessions. Facilitated by a qualified STEM teacher with experience in digital technologies and game design.

If this time does not suit you, or if the program is fully booked, but you are still interested in similar programs, please complete this form - https://forms.office.com/r/KUWtxQK6wp

Each week includes:

Live, step-by-step tutorials,
Facilitated times to develop their own games,
Structured guidance to help them objectively debug and assess computer games
Show & tell segments where students get to share, celebrate, and constructively critique the work they’ve completed between lessons.

No experience is required — just a laptop and a bit of imagination.

Each week, students will be encouraged to complete extra coding challenges, as well as working on their own original games, in-between sessions.

What You’ll Learn:
✅ How digital systems (i.e. MakeCode) use sprites, data, and simple algorithms

✅ How to design core game mechanics (movement, collisions, scoring, etc.)

✅ Creating and editing pixel art sprites

✅ Planning and refining their own game idea

✅ Testing, debugging and improving 'digital solutions'

✅ Sharing and communicating design ideas with others

What You’ll Need:

A laptop or desktop with internet access
Headphones (with microphone recommended) and a quiet space
Basic familiarity with Zoom or MS Teams
Creativity and a love of games!
A willingness to prototype, test and share ideas!

NSW Curriculum Links:

📌 Curriculum aligned: Supports Stage 3 & Stage 4 Digital Technologies outcomes, including design processes, coding algorithms, and communicating digital solutions.

Through the design and development of their own arcade-style games, students apply computational thinking, use iterative design processes and communicate their design decisions to others — making this a highly engaging way to meet Stage 3 and Stage 4 Digital Technologies requirements.

Stage 3 – Science and Technology K–6 (2024)

ST3-DDT-01 – uses design processes to create, evaluate and modify designed solutions
ST3-DDT-02 – creates, evaluates and modifies algorithms to code or control digital devices and systems

Stage 4 – Technology 7–8 (2023)

TE4-DES-01 – communicates and evaluates design ideas and solutions
TE4-DIG-01 – demonstrates technological literacy to safely interact in digital environments
TE4-DIG-02 – uses data and digital systems to code, design and produce projects