Abstract:

The algorithms and communication and information technologies increasingly permeate everyday life. This scenario requires critical and innovative thinking to solve progressively more complex problems, with people able to think computationally and algorithmically, and also fluent in the use and conception of new technologies. In this sense, Computational Thinking (CT) becomes fundamental because it aims to use and systematize tasks through computing, in addition to making it possible to build new digital technologies. The CT is a way of identifying problem solutions based on Computer Science concepts and teaches how to solve everyday problems based on concepts used for several years, such as abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, and algorithms.

In Brazil, the National Curricular Common Base (BNCC) corresponds to the learning demands to prepare students for the future, being the document that guides the curricula of Brazilian schools. It highlights the importance of algorithms and flowcharts, the relevance of computing and digital technologies in education, as well as the use of strategies to develop CT in the classroom. However, the development of the CT should not be limited to the formal school environment, with the construction of digital games being an alternative in this process.

Based on this need to work with CT in different environments, and the inherent advantages of digital games regarding immersion and information retention, this article presents a digital game, built with the Scratch platform, with a focus on CT development. The game presented in this article was designed with the following requirements: to be attractive; easy to play; with explanations and challenges of logic and pseudocode; challenges related to the game's plot and structure; present concepts of algorithms; and, used in early grades of elementary school.

The game aims to facilitate and gamify CT learning processes, it was developed in an arcade-style based on the narrative that the year is 2100 and set in a futuristic city that has all its automated operations. This city suffered a hacker attack and several of its systems stopped working. The player must fix algorithms to restore the working of the city, this must be done by solving CT-related challenges. Some challenges change the structure of the game's interface, allowing the character to continue walking through the environment. In graphic terms, the main function is to illustrate and tell events of this trajectory interactively and dynamically, motivating and maintaining the student's interest and attention, giving rise to CT and algorithm challenges as events within the narrative context unfold. The stimuli used differ according to the situation and are used to capture the player's attention or to make the experience more engaging and pleasant.

The use of the developed game helps in the learning of algorithms, consequently of the CT, being motivating for the students, considering that it is something of their daily life. Another positive factor is the possibility for the student to verify how the game was built through the Scratch environment. The Scratch environment has the advantage of helping to understand the development code by using the concept of code blocks. The game playfully introduces CT from its plot, presenting concepts of variables, decision structures, and repetition, among others, and can be worked with children from the first year of elementary school onwards.

Keywords:

Computational Thinking, Educational Games, Scratch.