Coding For Kids For Dummies

Project 12

Squid Ink

When you’re a simple, nonviolent squid, it can be hard to defend your ocean home. But armed with ink sacs, you can swim around safely, releasing a disorienting, black cloud whenever a nasty shark gets too close!

In Squid Ink, you build a shooter-style game. The squid’s motion is keyboard controlled, and the shark glides constantly in a direction towards the squid. Additionally, the squid carries hidden cargo — his ink cloud — that matches the squid’s x and y coordinates until it is shot at the shark. The touchedturtle commands in IF-THEN conditionals check whether the ink touches the shark, as well as whether the shark touches the squid. Recorded audio plays if either touching condition is met.

Brainstorm

Shooter games can be adapted to a wide variety of themes, including

• A shooting gallery at the fair in which the player aims a water gun at rubber ducks
• A humanitarian mission in which airplane flyovers drop food packages into refugee camps
• A Galaga- or Asteriods-style game in which the player navigates a spacecraft and shoots at incoming invaders or space debris

Start a New Project

Begin creating your Squid Ink game by starting a new project as follows:

1. Start MicroWorlds EX.
2. From the yellow MicroWorlds EX startup screen, select Free Mode.

   A new project opens.

3. From the menu bar, choose File⇒New Project Size⇒MicroWorlds Standard.

Add an Ocean-Themed Background ...