Updated 1/28/25

Club updates

Watch me if this is your first time visiting this page

Bloxels

click to open

Tips &
Tutorials

Decorating a Game

creating characters

character lab (settings)

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

C64

classic

Pocket Land

Design
Challenge

My first platformer

If you haven’t already started working on your first platformer game, now’s the time to get going!

Go to the Game Builder and start a new game. Select Platformer and start building. Use what you know about the 8 block types, decorating games, creating characters, and more. You’re in no rush! We’re here to make the BEST games we can, not the FASTEST games we can finish. Have fun creating!

Example Games

Game
ideas

My Neighborhood

Create a game that takes place in your own neighborhood. Feature some of the familiar sights and people in the area. Make it as realistic or fantastic as you want. What could the player be trying to do?

Example Games

Tips &
Tutorials

End Flags

Game Templates

configuring powerups

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

Spooky

Cryptids

Western

Design
Challenge

Create a Creepy, Spooky, Scary Game

If you started from the beginning of the year, you’re getting to this update as we enter the SPOOKIEST month of the year, October. To celebrate the season, create the SCARIEST, CREEPIEST game you can. Use the featured asset packs to help you decorate your game. Think about how your game can have a BEGINNING, MIDDLE, and END. Play the games below for some great examples. One of them was even created by a Brainiac just like you. Show us what you got!

Example Games

Game
ideas

Day / Night

Create a game that begins in the morning and ends at night. Or maybe it starts at night and ends in the morning. Figure out how to let your player know that time has passed. What happens throughout the day (or night) is completely up to you!

Example Games

We couldn’t find any good examples to use. We want to use YOUR game! If you create a Day/Night game that you think would be a great example for others, let your club leader know and you may see it featured right below!

Tips &
Tutorials

Publishing games

Keys and Doors Part 1

enemy drops

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

Pirates

Space

Starship

Design
Challenge

create your first (or Best)
top down game

Most designers tend to start with creating Platformer games. If you haven’t yet, this is your chance to branch out and create your first TOP DOWN style game. If you’ve already created one, accept the challenge and create your BEST top down game yet. These types of games are often used for maze or adventure games, but there are so many different ways you can go.

Top Down games are different from Platformers in a few important ways. First off, the “camera” is viewing the action from a different place. With a Top Down game, the view is a “birds eye view” from straight above. This means we can see the characters move up, down, left, right, all directions. But we can’t see them jump! A Top Down game doesn’t have gravity in the way a Platformer does. Now that you know about these differences, let’s see what you can create!

Example Games

Game
ideas

more adventures with my favorite character

Think of a character from one of your favorite games, movies, books, comics, tv shows, etc. What type of new adventure can you create for this character?

Start by creating your character. Try to make it so that anyone familiar with the character would recognize them. Then create a game about a new adventure featuring the character. 

Example Games

Tips &
Tutorials

Sharing and remixing

Keys and Doors Part 2

Music & Weather Changes

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

City

Dinosaurs

Forest

Design
Challenge

Stay organized!

Not all of these challenges will be about creating games, characters, and art. Let’s talk about the importance of staying organized. 

When we first start making something in Bloxels, it is called Untitled. This can make it difficult to find exactly what we’re looking for if we need to go back to one of our earlier creations. We highly recommend giving everything you make some sort of name. This can even be a temporary name that you can change later. Just call it something that will help you tell each creation apart. You can always decide on the final name later. 

Sometimes we create things and then decide later we no longer need or want them. These items can clutter our workshop and make it harder to find the things we really need. If you are 100% certain you won’t be coming back to a game, character, or artwork, you may wish to DELETE them. Be careful! Once deleted, these things will be gone forever. Only delete things that were created by mistake or are truly unneeded. 

We challenge you to take a break from creating in order to spend some time renaming things you’ve already made and cleaning up your workshop.

Game
ideas

A Day In My Life

Create a game that shows one day in your life. It could be showing the events of a day that actually took place. You could also use your imagination to come up with a day where you can do anything you want. 

Make sure to use story blocks to let your player know what’s happening.

Example Games

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Tips &
Tutorials

Game Warp Demo

Warp within a Game

Warp to a game in your library

Warp to a game in the arcade

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

holidays

winter world

Design
Challenge

Template Design Challenge:
Top Down Template 3-A

Templates in Bloxels are pre-designed levels that help game designers get started quickly. They serve as a foundation, providing the basic layout of a level so you can focus on adding your own creative touches. There are two types of templates for each style of game—platformer and top-down—with one version featuring only the basic building blocks and another that’s fully decorated.

To access these templates, open the Game Builder, select “Create New Game,” and then choose the template you want to start with from the available options.

For this challenge, you’ll use Top Down Template 3-A, the undecorated version of the first top-down game template. Begin by adding your own story, characters, enemies, and items to make the level come to life. Then, consider how the player will navigate the space: Are there puzzles to solve? Enemies to defeat? Hidden areas to discover? Use your creativity to design a unique experience for players that showcases your vision for an engaging top-down game!

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Game
ideas

make history

Re-create a famous moment or event from history. Create custom characters to represent the important people involved. Show the event as it really happened or be creative and change history.

Example Games

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Tips &
Tutorials

Stamp Tool
(Copy and paste)

Knowing When to Publish your Games

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

Crystal Palace

Snow Village

Design
Challenge

Wonderful
Winter Holidays

Create a game that celebrates the fun and magic of winter holidays! Choose a platformer or top-down style and design your game with snow-covered landscapes, holiday decorations, and festive characters. Maybe the player is delivering gifts, building a snowman, or helping save the holidays from a mischievous villain. Use your imagination to bring the season to life and create an exciting adventure for players to enjoy!

Example Games

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Game
ideas

Animal Adventure

Create a game where the player takes on the role of an animal. Will they be a wild creature, a pet, or an animal in a zoo? Build the environment and story around the challenges or adventures this animal might face.

Example Games

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Tips &
Tutorials

Working Together
with Bloxels

Hopefully you’ve made some friends in your Create and Code club. You may want to work together with these friends to create something bigger and better than you might be able make on your own. Let’s talk about two different ways you can do that. 

A. Share the work

One great way to work together is to share the responsibilities of making a game. Only one person can create the game on their account. That person can be called the Level Designer. They will be responsible for making the layout of the level, decorating the blocks, changing settings, and everything else that gets done in the Game Builder. 

The other person/people can be the Art Director(s). They will be responsible for creating the characters, art, and backgrounds to be used in the game. If there are lots of things that need to be created, you can add people to your team. One person can handle just the characters while someone else focuses on the art. 

In order for the Level Designer to use the characters/art in your game, they will need to be shared to the Class Library. From the Character/Art/Background Builder, select the item you’d like to share and then press the Share button from the menu. Once shared to the class library, anyone in your class may be able to use your creations. 

To share characters, art, and backgrounds you’ve created to the Class Libary, use the Share button in the menu that pops up when you select something.

When decorating your games, use the Class Library section to find the items your clubmates have made public.

B. Use warpS to create one big game

Awhile back, Bloxels added one of the coolest features, the ability to create warp blocks. These blocks can transport your player to a different area of your level, to a different game that you’ve created or any other game published in the Arcade. 

This means you can work with a friend or a group of friends to create a bigger game by connecting your levels together. Let’s take a look at how it works!

To create a warp, start by placing a white Story Block wherever you’d like your player to warp from.

If you choose Place In This Game, you will be able to choose the warp destination anywhere in the same level you’re creating. Choose Another Game will allow you to connect your game with another game you’ve created. Enter Arcade ID is used to connect your game to any other game that’s been published in the Bloxels Arcade. 

This is the screen you’ll see when you select Choose Another Game. It will show a list of all the games you’ve created and you’ll select which one to warp to. Note: your warp may be broken later unless BOTH games have been published to the arcade.

When you select Enter Arcade ID, you’ll be prompted to enter the arcade ID number of the game you wish to connect to. You will need to exit the Builder and go to the Arcade to get this ID number. 

When you select a game from the Arcade, you are first given this loading screen before you press Play to launch into the game. To find the game’s arcade ID, press the button all the way on the right side of the controller, the one with the i symbol on it. This will bring up the game details. 

In this case, I’ve chosen the very popular game Highway Madness. Keep in mind that we shouldn’t be connecting our games to other people’s games unless we’ve talked to them and gotten their permission.

On this details screen, you’ll see the arcade ID where it says ‘ID’. You’ll need to write down or remember this number. Now, return to the builder to enter the ID and complete your warp. 

Back in the builder in the settings for the warp block, select Enter Arcade ID and then enter the number you just found. To save, click anywhere outside of this box. You can also select the effect you wish to happen when the warp is activated. 

Now, when the warp is used by pressing the Shift key, you will be transported to the other game you chose. You can see the character remains the same because I had the “Transfer Hero” checkbox selected. If you de-select this, you will use the default character from the game you warp to instead of the one you started as. 

If you want the warp to work without having to press the Shift key, then select “Warp on Contact”. This will make it so the player warps as soon as they touch the block. 

That’s all you need to know to get your warps working and connect your games to your friends’ games. Now, give it a try!

Featured
Asset Packs

Try to feature characters, art, and backgrounds from these packs in your creations for the next couple of weeks.

Click for a sneak preview

Cave

Sewer

Factory

Design
Challenge

Underground Adventures

Create a game that takes players deep below the surface! Will your game take place in a twisting cave, a high-tech factory, or a stinky sewer system? Use your imagination to add challenges and surprises that fit your chosen setting. Combine platforms, obstacles, and enemies to make this underground journey a thrilling one. Don’t forget to use the featured asset packs to bring your underground world to life!

Example Games

Game
ideas

Inside the body

Create a game that takes place inside the body of a living creature. How can you feature familiar body parts throughout the game? What kind of adventure will your player go on —fighting off germs, exploring the brain, or fixing a problem in the heart?

Example Games

DNA

TechBrainiacs Create and Code Bloxels Game Builder Select Screenshot

Makecode arcade

try it now!

Getting Started

Logging in with Google

To save your progress online, you’ll need to sign in to MakeCode Arcade. 
  1.  Click the Sign In button in the upper right corner.
  2.  
  3. Click “Continue with Google”.
  4.  
  5. You will need to enter your school email address and password. If you do not know this info, ask your club leader for help. They may be able to look up your details.
  6.  
  7. On the next screen, press Continue to accept the terms and finish logging in.

beginner Skillmaps

Choose one and work through it step by step from start to finish

Important notes

  • FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS STEP BY STEP!
  •  
  • Ask your club leader and fellow students for help if you get stuck.
  •  
  • If something isn’t working correctly, take the time to try and figure out why, then fix it. 
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  • MakeCode Arcade is very different than Bloxels. It’s not as easy to get started creating something of your own. Be patient, work through the guided lessons, and soon you’ll be using what you’ve learned to make your own creations. 
  •  
  • DON’T GIVE UP WHEN THINGS GET HARD!

Storyboard that

Coming soon!