gluntyacademy

glunty academy

glunty // Cursor lessons

Build a real game you can play

Design your own catch game, let Cursor build it in real code, then change one number to see how games really work.

0 of 12 done
  1. Finish the step above first
    01

    Name your game

    Every game starts as an idea in your head. Let us pull yours out.

    Think of a catch game: something falls, you try to catch it.

    Type a name plus a few words about it, like: Bucket Rain, catch the drops before they splat.

  2. Finish the step above first
    02

    Pick what you control

    In your game, YOU move one thing along the bottom of the screen.

    What is it, and what does it look like? A red bucket? A cat? A spaceship?

    Type the thing you control and its color or shape.

  3. Finish the step above first
    03

    Choose what falls

    Now the fun part: what drops from the sky for you to catch?

    Raindrops, coins, pizza slices, stars? Pick your thing and its color.

    Type the falling thing and how it looks.

  4. Finish the step above first
    04

    Make the rule

    A game needs a rule, or it is just stuff moving around.

    What do you get for catching it? What happens when you miss?

    Type your scoring rule, like: plus 1 for a catch, lose a life if it hits the floor, 3 lives.

  5. Finish the step above first
    05

    Open Cursor

    Cursor is a free code editor with a robot helper built in. It writes real code for you.

    Download it from the button, open it, and make a new empty folder for your game.

    Type the name of the folder you made.

    Open Cursor (new tab)
  6. Finish the step above first
    06

    Give Cursor your plan

    Open the chat box in Cursor, where the robot helper lives.

    Copy the prompt below. It has all of YOUR choices baked right in. Send it.

    When the code appears, look at the file Cursor made and type its name.

    what will really happen

    Cursor writes real code, but the first version often has a bug or looks plainer than you pictured.

    It may name the file or the fallSpeed variable differently than the prompt asked.

    You might have to say 'it does not run' and let it fix its own mistake - that is normal.

    Open Cursor (new tab)
    You are a friendly game developer who builds tiny browser games for total beginners. Build me a game called "[game_name]" in ONE file named index.html. How it plays: - I control [player]. It moves left and right when I press the arrow keys. - [faller] falls from the top of the screen, one at a time, at random spots. - The rule: [scoring] Please follow these rules so a beginner can read and change the code: - Put everything in ONE index.html file. Use plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No libraries and no internet. - At the very top of the script, make a variable named fallSpeed with a comment that says "change this number to make it faster or slower". - Show the score on the screen in big text. - Add a button that restarts the game. - Keep the code short and add simple comments so a kid can understand each part. - Make it work by just double-clicking the file.
  7. Finish the step above first
    07

    Play your game

    In Cursor, save the file, then open index.html in your web browser.

    Use the arrow keys. Catch some. Miss some. It is REAL and it is yours.

    Type the first score you got.

    hold on - judge it, do not celebrate
    • Is this the game you imagined, or just the first thing Cursor built?
    • What is the ONE part that feels generic - the plain box, the colors, the speed?
    • What would you change to make it feel more like YOUR game?
  8. Finish the step above first
    08

    Find the secret number

    Go back to Cursor and read the code. Near the top is a line about fallSpeed.

    That one number decides how fast things drop. Code is just rules you can read.

    Type the number you see next to fallSpeed.

  9. Finish the step above first
    09

    Change one number

    Pick a new number. Bigger means faster and harder. Smaller means slower and easier.

    Type your new number over the old one, then save the file.

    Type the new number you chose.

    Did you try more than one fall speed, or stop at the first change?

  10. Finish the step above first
    10

    Feel the difference

    Refresh your game in the browser and play it again.

    Whoa. You just changed how the whole game feels with ONE number. That is what a developer does.

    Type what changed when you played.

  11. Finish the step above first
    11

    Build your game spec

    Real developers write a spec: a plain-English plan of the game.

    Press the button to turn all your answers into a clean spec sheet.

    Save it. You can paste it back into Cursor later to build version 2.

    Do the steps above and your Build my game spec shows up here.
  12. Finish the step above first
    12

    Show the world

    You designed it, built it, and changed it. Time to share your creation.

    Post your game spec on the class wall with the tag #Glunty.

    Then dare a friend to beat your high score.

The class wall - share yours

Loading the class wall...

You are a game developer now.

You dreamed up a game, read the real code that runs it, and changed how it feels with a single number. That is how every game you love got built - one rule at a time.

Back to the academy Your progress
Embedded tool from glunty.com