Pocket Arcade: Build for iOS and Android
Build an Expo game with a portable model, touch controls, a tested wall, and an honest record of web and native previews.
Expo web preview · iOS development preview · Android development preview · Ages 9-10, 11-13, 14-16
A parent or guardian unlocks the missions. Starter projects use fictional data and require no paid AI key.
Your project
Original Pocket Star grid game inspired by the family BOUNCR mobile port
- Separate model from platform rendering.
- Build touch-friendly controls.
- Implement a solvable feature.
- Explain progress lifetime and preview versus distribution.
Before you begin
- Comfort with JavaScript objects and functions.
- An adult prepares Node and Expo packages; native toolchains are facilitator setup.
- Web preview supports core learning when native tools are unavailable; native verification must remain pending until actually tested.
Materials
- Computer, editor, prepared Node
- Optional prepared iOS/Android device or emulator
- Paper phone frame and grid
Your tools
- Pocket Star starter
- Original turn-based Expo game with pure-model tests.
- Download /lab-starters/mobile-games.zip; run npm install, npm test, and npm run web.
- Expo and React Native
- Present one model through web and native interfaces.
- Pinned package versions match inspected family source; native commands are npm run ios and npm run android.
- Prepared native preview environment
- Verify mobile layout and lifecycle.
- Facilitator prepares Xcode/iOS simulator on macOS or Android Studio/emulator and compatible JDK before class.
Your mission sequence
MISSION 1 · 90 MINUTES
Design a game for a pocket screen
Run Pocket Star and define a small game a partner can learn quickly.
Architect skill: A mobile system starts with a player situation and an observable promise.
MISSION 2 · 90 MINUTES
Build a repeatable game model
Trace a pure move function and verify a planned route.
Architect skill: A portable model does not depend on screen size or platform APIs.
MISSION 3 · 90 MINUTES
Make controls fit people and screens
Improve control clarity without changing game rules.
Architect skill: Responsive output can adapt while input meaning stays consistent.
MISSION 4 · 90 MINUTES
Add a wall with a clear rule
Add a blocked cell, show it, and prove the puzzle stays solvable.
Architect skill: A feature must agree across rules, feedback, and reachable goals.
MISSION 5 · 90 MINUTES
Test interruptions and honest saving
Verify gameplay and define exactly what progress survives.
Architect skill: Persistence is a promise about data lifetime that must match observation.
MISSION 6 · 90 MINUTES
Demo across platforms without overclaiming
Present the pocket game and exactly where it was verified.
Architect skill: A handoff separates current evidence from future distribution.
Learn online
Six weekly 90-minute sessions: 10 minutes to predict, 15 to explain, 40 to build, 15 to test, and 10 to reflect.
Plan around 90 minutes per session; pause and revisit at your own pace.
Adult support: A facilitator prepares tools and operates AI through JR Playground or an adult-managed assistant. Learners make choices, edit, and verify; no personal AI account is required.
Build at camp
Five days with 180 planned minutes per day, including project work and group activities. The course outline does not reserve a camp place.
Day 1: Day 1 — Brief and working model
- Complete the first two lessons in paired studios.
- Alternate driver and navigator and take a movement break between studios.
Day 2: Day 2 — Controls
- Trade paper screen sizes or devices and find one hidden layout assumption.
- Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.
Day 3: Day 3 — One meaningful feature
- Teams must supply a valid route before accepting each proposed wall placement.
- Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.
Day 4: Day 4 — Failure detectives
- Run an interruption lab: rotate, pause, restart, reload, and explain surviving data.
- Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.
Day 5: Day 5 — Future Architects showcase
- Host a pocket arcade with verified, observed issue, or pending labels beside each platform.
- Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.
Facilitator preparation
- The same six outcomes apply online and at camp; additional camp studio time supplies practice, not extra required content.
- Choose guided, independent, or stretch tasks by confidence. Ages 9–10 often pair with an adult; ages 11–13 own bounded changes; ages 14–16 can justify and test architecture choices.
- Prepare starters before class. Keep family repositories and personal data out of student workspaces.
Show what you built
Deliver a small playable game for a chosen player, demonstrate a tested improvement, and explain its input, state, rules, output, and one design tradeoff.
- Purpose
- A brief names the player, loop, finish, and one idea left for later.
- Working system
- A fresh run reaches the intended finish; recovery and restart match the specification.
- Evidence
- A record contains normal, boundary, failure, and repeated-after-fix checks with device details.
- Architect explanation
- The learner explains a changed rule, a tradeoff, and how an AI suggestion was checked.
Portfolio badge: Pocket App Architect
Use the rubric with a guardian or mentor and record your evidence in your builder notebook.
Build with care
- Use fictional player names and original shapes; no child photos, contacts, passwords, or API keys belong in the starter.
- An adult operates external AI and manages any public sharing; verify each suggested change with a prediction and check.
- Take movement breaks and offer partner-operated controls when needed.
Inspired by our projects
- BOUNCR mobile
- Expo/React Native architecture, touch input, progress state, native rendering, and parity-checking ideas. The original teaching starter uses native Views instead of copying the Skia action game.