project-spark

App of the Week: A game that teaches game design


Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated with help from the editors of Graphite.org, a free service from Common Sense Education. Click here to read the full app review.
Update: Microsoft is shuttering Project Spark. It is no longer available for download and online services for existing players will end Aug. 12.

Project Spark

What’s It Like? Project Spark is a digital game creator that lets students build their own games. Students can browse, play, and learn from other community-designed games and from plenty of genres: action/adventure, first-person shooter, arcade, puzzle, strategy, and platformer. Students will build 2-D or 3-D environments, write dialogue and scripts for their characters and stories, and execute complex lines of logic. This “kode,” as Project Spark calls it, dictates what the game world, objects, and characters will do and how they will behave. Once finished, students can upload their creations for others to play and/or remix.

Price: Free

Rating: 4/5

Grades: 7-12

Pros: A wealth of tutorials and powerful collaborative features can help users build a game limited only by their imaginations.

Cons: The learning curve can be steep: There’s a lot to know to build a game, and there’s a lot to learn to use this tool.

Bottom line: Though it’s difficult to master using Project Spark, those who dive deep wil be rewarded with a game-making tool that inspires.

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