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Stage 9: Level Polish

Stage 9: Level Polish

Course progressStage 9 of 10
~90 min
Your workspace

Keep your Scratch project tab open all week. Open in a new tab so you don’t leave the course.

Build your gameScratchOpen in a new tab ↗Try the finished versionLive reference gameOpen in a new tab ↗
Build

theme, tuning, and restart polish

Learn

how small design choices change game feel

Ship

a level that feels intentional from start to finish

Teacher demo
  1. Show the same level with slow spikes, then fast spikes.
  2. Show the same cube with high jump and low jump.
  3. Add a backdrop and visual theme.
  4. Restart quickly after a crash so testing stays fast.

The big idea

Polish is not decoration only. Speed, jump height, spacing, colors, sounds, and restart timing all decide whether the player trusts the level.

New words
tuning
adjusting numbers until gameplay feels right
theme
a consistent visual idea
restart flow
how quickly the player can try again
fairness
the player can understand why they won or lost
Before you start

Stages 1-8 should be playable. This stage improves what is already working.

Target visual examples
Original cube runner sprite
Cube Runner
Original spike obstacle
Spike
Original portal sprite
Portal
Original neon backdrop
Neon Backdrop

Students may follow these examples or draw their own versions in Scratch. Keep the sprite names from the lesson.

Use the examples

Follow the target shapes shown here so your scripts match the lesson quickly.

Make your own

Draw a custom cube, spikes, portal, or backdrop in Scratch. Keep the same sprite names so the code still works.

Finished game target
Score 240Time 38
Cube runnerSpike obstacleGravity portal

The cube stays near the left side while the level scrolls toward it. Jump timing is the whole game.

Build it

  1. Choose a theme: neon city, lava cave, ice tunnel, candy level, or your own.
  2. Make cube, spikes, portal, and backdrop feel like they belong together.
  3. Tune jump height, gravity, spike speed, and spawn timing.
  4. Add a restart message or quick reset key.
  5. Have another camper playtest without explaining the game first.

Quick restart key

forever
if <key [r v] pressed?> then
broadcast [restart v]
end
end

when I receive [restart v]
set [gameOn v] to (1)
set [levelComplete v] to (0)
set [time v] to (0)
set [score v] to (0)
go to x: (-150) y: (-90)

Understand it

Playtesting is a design tool. If another camper crashes and says it felt unfair, that is data. Change one number, test again, and compare.

Try this

Learning beat

Try this

Three short experiments. Predict before you run, then test your guess.

Predict first
Lower the spike speed by 1. Predict whether the level becomes easier or just slower.
Compare
Try dark background with bright spikes, then bright background with bright spikes. Which is easier to read?
Connect
Stage 10 adds the final screen. What should it show so the player wants one more try?

Test your stage

  • The game has a clear visual theme.
  • A new player can identify the cube, spikes, and portal quickly.
  • The level is possible at least three times in a row.
  • Restart works without refreshing the browser.

If it breaks

  • If restart leaves old clones on screen, make clones delete themselves when gameOn is 0.
  • If the game is impossible, slow the spikes before changing five things at once.
Coach notes

Keep students moving on the default path first. Custom assets are encouraged, but the required names and variables are not optional. If debugging takes more than a few minutes, compare the student's sprite names, variable names, and block order against the stage test list.