Does your child enjoy video games, characters, challenges and discovering new levels? With the right guidance, that interest can become an entry point to programming, creativity and critical thinking.
That is the purpose of Gamebot, a My Robot Barra da Tijuca course that invites children and teenagers to move from simply playing to creating.
Playing is different from creating
When children play, they interpret rules, make decisions, test strategies and react to results. When they create a game, they must ask different questions: What is the player's goal? What happens when a button is pressed? How does a character move? What makes a level fair? What must change after an error?
The game becomes a problem to plan, build, test and improve.
What does a child learn by creating a game?
Creating a game is more than choosing images and moving characters. Students organize ideas, split a challenge into smaller parts and connect causes to effects.
“When the character touches an obstacle, it should lose a life and return to the start of the level.”
This instruction contains a condition, an event and a consequence. When students turn it into programming, they work with sequence, events, conditions, variables, repetition and debugging.
Learning is concrete because the result appears on the screen. If the character does not move, it must be investigated. If the game is too easy, rules can be adjusted. If the player is confused, the level needs another plan.
The creation cycle: imagine, build, test and improve
- Imagine: choose an idea, theme or challenge.
- Plan: define characters, rules, goals and stages.
- Build: create scenes, commands and behaviours.
- Test: play the project and observe what happens.
- Improve: locate issues and try other solutions.
- Present: explain choices and show the result.
Real projects are developed this way: through versions, tests, adjustments and new ideas.
An error becomes information
In a programming project, an error can show what still needs to be understood. A character crossing a wall may point to a collision rule; a score that does not increase may reveal an event to review.
Students observe the system, form hypotheses and test alternatives. They develop persistence and autonomy without being left alone: the teacher guides reasoning with questions and clues.
What does research say?
Research does not say that any video game automatically produces educational benefits. Outcomes depend on goals, pedagogical guidance, project quality and active participation. When children take part in creating, though, there is meaningful evidence:
- A review of 68 studies found gains related to programming learning, computational thinking and engagement among children who designed and programmed games. Laakso et al. (2021).
- A review of Scratch literature links project creation with algorithmic thinking, debugging and logical reasoning. Stewart and Baek (2023).
- A systematic review found potential cognitive, social, emotional, motivational and engagement effects when game-based learning has a well-defined pedagogical purpose. Alotaibi (2024).
- A recent study highlights how game design can make programming and problem-solving concepts more interactive and meaningful. Wu (2025).
These studies support a careful conclusion: game creation can be a valuable context for reasoning, creativity, problem solving and active participation when it is part of a pedagogical plan.
Skills developed
Logic and computational thinking
Students break a complex idea into smaller steps and think through commands, success and failure conditions, and each element's behaviour.
Creativity with purpose
They find different solutions, combine elements and make choices that make sense for the player.
Critical thinking, communication and persistence
Testing a game means evaluating rules and balance. Presenting it means explaining choices. Revising it teaches students to investigate, ask for help clearly and keep improving.
A simple project example
Imagine a game where a character crosses a city collecting recyclable objects. The student may create the scene, define the level goal, program movement and scoring, add obstacles and a victory message, then test each rule. A simple project brings together storytelling, design, organization, programming and revision.
Gamebot: turning interest into authorship
Gamebot directs an existing interest in games toward creation. It does not treat games as an enemy or place a child in front of another screen: it changes the relationship with technology. Students understand how an experience is built and develop their own ideas.
Who is the course for?
Gamebot is for students interested in video games, interactive stories, characters, challenges or digital creation. No previous programming knowledge is required. Students are guided according to their experience and evolve from simpler commands to more autonomous projects.
Technology with purpose
The goal is not to turn every child into a professional programmer. It is to offer a space to create, test, make mistakes, explain and improve. At My Robot Barra da Tijuca, Gamebot supports this transition from consumer to creator.
Learn about Gamebot and schedule a trial class.
Suggested complementary resources
- Scratch for stories, games and animations.
- ScratchJr for younger children.
- Code.org computer science activities.
- Making Games from Scratch.
Resources help, but rich learning happens with a clear challenge, appropriate guidance and the chance to explain and improve what was created.