Project Notes & Credits — Scratch L4

The two text boxes below every shared project: Instructions (left) tells a stranger how to play; Notes & Credits (right) names who you are, who inspired you, and what you used. Both start empty — fill them before you hit Share.

Learning Goals 3 min

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Find the two text boxes on a shared Scratch project page — Instructions and Notes & Credits — and explain what each one is for.
Write a clear Instructions box that tells a brand-new player how to start, what the controls are, and what they're trying to do.
Write a Notes & Credits box that names your inspirations, anyone you remixed, and any music or art you didn't make yourself.

Warm-Up — the silent project 7 min

Imagine you click a Scratch project called "Mango Catcher 3000". The page loads. Above the Stage there's a green flag. Below the Stage, both text boxes are empty. You hit the flag.

A mango falls from the top of the Stage. You watch it. It hits the bottom and disappears. Another mango falls. You watch that one too. Nothing else happens. After ten seconds, you click the red stop button and close the tab.

What just went wrong?

Reveal the answer

The project might actually be a really fun game. Maybe you were supposed to move a basket left and right with the arrow keys to catch the mangoes. Maybe there's a score counter you didn't notice. Maybe pressing space starts a timer round. But you'll never know — because the creator never told you. The empty Instructions box turned a playable game into a confusing screensaver.

This happens to thousands of Scratch projects every day. Real games, drowned by silence. The fix is two paragraphs of typing.

Today's lesson is those two paragraphs. They sit in two specific boxes below every shared project. Once you learn the templates, you'll never ship a silent project again.

New Concept — the two boxes 15 min

Every shared Scratch project has a project page — the public page strangers see when they click your link. The page has the Stage at the top with a green flag button, and below the Stage there are two text boxes side-by-side:

Instructions — on the left. The "how to play" box.
Notes & Credits — on the right. The "thank-yous and confessions" box.

Both boxes are empty by default. Both stay empty until you fill them in. Both are edited from the project page, not from inside the editor — there's a small pencil icon next to each one that you click to type.

The Instructions box — what to write

The Instructions box answers one question: "I just clicked the flag — now what?" A stranger should be able to read your Instructions, hit the green flag, and immediately know what to do. Three things belong in here:

What the goal is. "Catch ten mangoes before they hit the ground." "Reach the temple at the top of the level." "Make the cat dance to the music."
What the controls are. "Arrow keys to move." "Click the sprites to feed them." "Press SPACE to jump."
How to start (if it's not just the green flag). Most projects start with the flag, but some need an extra click or key press. Say so.

Here's a template you can copy and fill in:

Instructions template

HOW TO PLAY
Click the green flag to start.

GOAL
[One sentence — what is the player trying to do?]

CONTROLS
[Arrow keys / WASD / mouse / space — what does each one do?]

TIPS
[Optional — one or two hints, like "the red mangoes are worth more"]

If your project has a control like when [space v] key pressed in the code, the Instructions box has to say "press SPACE to..." — otherwise the player will never discover that key exists.

The Notes & Credits box — what to write

The Notes & Credits box answers a different question: "Whose work is in here besides yours?" Three things belong in here:

Your name (or just your first name — never your full name). A line like "Made by Aisyah" or just "By @aisyah_codes".
Inspirations and remix credits. If you remixed someone, the auto-banner already credits them — but it's good manners to also name them in your own words here. If you just got the idea from someone (no remix), say so: "Inspired by the catcher game @amir_dev made last term."
Music, art, and sounds you didn't make. If you used a sound from the Scratch sound library, no credit needed — those are free to use. If you used a sprite from the Scratch costume library, same thing. But if you imported music from somewhere else, you have to say where it came from.

Here's a template:

Notes & Credits template

Made by [your name or @username].

INSPIRATIONS
[Who or what gave you the idea?]

REMIXES
[If this is a remix, name the original in your own words.]

MUSIC / ART / SOUNDS
[List anything you imported that wasn't yours.]

THANK YOU
[Optional — anyone who helped you debug, playtested, or gave feedback.]

Why both boxes matter

The Instructions box is for the player. The Notes & Credits box is for the community — other coders who want to know where your ideas came from. They serve different readers, so they need different writing. Don't mix them. A stranger looking for "how do I play" shouldn't have to read through five names of friends who playtested.

Common mistakes

Leaving both boxes empty. The fastest way to lose a player. They'll bounce in three seconds and never come back. Two paragraphs of typing is the difference between zero hearts and ten.
Writing the controls in the wrong box. Controls go in Instructions, not Notes & Credits. A confused player won't scroll over to the other box looking for them.
Using vague language. "Press buttons to win" tells the player nothing. "Press the up arrow to jump over the durian" tells them exactly what to do.
Forgetting to credit the music. If you uploaded a song you didn't write — even a 5-second clip — you need to say where it came from. This isn't just manners; it's the law in most countries. Free Scratch library sounds don't need credit. Anything you uploaded yourself does.
Writing your full real name. First name only, or just your Scratch username. The internet doesn't need your full name attached to your projects. (We'll cover this more next lesson.)

Worked Example — writing notes for "Durian Drop" 12 min

You've just finished a small game called Durian Drop. A basket sprite moves left and right with the arrow keys. Durians fall from the top of the Stage. Catch ten and you win. Miss three and you lose. You remixed a friend's "Mango Catcher" project as a starting point, then changed all the fruits to durians and added a Malaysian-themed background. Now you want to share it. Time to write the two boxes.

Step 1 — Open the project page

From inside the Scratch editor, click See project page in the top-right. You leave the editor and land on the public-facing page. The Stage is up top with the green flag. The two empty text boxes sit underneath.

Step 2 — Click the pencil on Instructions

There's a small pencil icon next to the Instructions heading. Click it. The box becomes editable. Start with the template.

Step 3 — Fill in the goal

One sentence. "Catch ten durians in your basket before three of them hit the ground." Done. The player now knows what winning looks like.

Step 4 — Fill in the controls

Look at your scripts. If your basket uses when [left arrow v] key pressed and when [right arrow v] key pressed, write "Left arrow and right arrow keys move the basket." Match the box to the code.


when [left arrow v] key pressed
change x by (-15)

when [right arrow v] key pressed
change x by (15)

The actual code in your basket sprite. The Instructions box has to mention left/right arrows — otherwise the player presses space, nothing happens, and they leave.

Step 5 — Add a tip if there's something non-obvious

If a green durian is worth 2 points and a brown one is worth 1, say so. The player can't read your variable names. Write "Green durians are rare — grab them, they're worth double."

Step 6 — Click the pencil on Notes & Credits

Same thing, other box. Click the pencil. Box becomes editable.

Step 7 — Fill in inspirations and remix credit

This project was a remix of your friend's Mango Catcher. The auto-banner already says so, but the manners rule is to also say it in your own words. Write "Remix of Mango Catcher by @amir_dev. I swapped all the fruits to durians, added a Malaysian rainforest backdrop, and slowed the falling speed for younger siblings."

Step 8 — Credit any external assets

If the background music is from the Scratch sound library, no credit needed. If you imported a song called "Selamat Datang" from a free music website, write "Music: 'Selamat Datang' by Pixabay user @kahuasoft (free for remix)." Always link the source if you have it.

The full assembled boxes

Instructions box (left side of the page)

HOW TO PLAY
Click the green flag to start.

GOAL
Catch ten durians in your basket before three hit the ground.

CONTROLS
Left arrow and right arrow keys move the basket.

TIPS
Green durians are rare — grab them, they're worth double.

Notes & Credits box (right side of the page)

Made by Aisyah (@aisyah_codes).

INSPIRATIONS
My little brother kept asking for a "durian game". Here it is.

REMIXES
Remix of Mango Catcher by @amir_dev. I swapped all the fruits to
durians, added a Malaysian rainforest backdrop, and slowed the
falling speed for younger siblings.

MUSIC / ART
Backdrop drawn by me in the Scratch paint editor.
Durian costume from the Scratch costume library.
Background music: Scratch library track "Tropical".

THANK YOU
To Cikgu Wong for spotting the bug where the basket wrapped
around the screen. Fixed!

What you just did: turned a confusing two-minute experience into a welcoming one. The same game now gets played to completion instead of getting closed after ten seconds. Two boxes. Two paragraphs each. The whole difference.

Try It Yourself — three notes-writing drills 15 min

🟢 Easy

Goal: Open any finished project you already have on your Scratch account. Look at its current Instructions box. If it's empty, fill it in using the three-part template (goal, controls, how to start). If it already has Instructions, rewrite them to use the template — even if you think they were fine before.

If you have a script like the one below, your Instructions box must mention what SPACE does:


when [space v] key pressed
broadcast [start game v]

Hidden control. The player will never press space unless your notes tell them to.

Think: Did writing the Instructions help you notice a control you'd forgotten about? That's normal. Writing notes is also a way to audit your own game.

🟡 Medium

Goal: Pick a Scratch project from last term that you remixed. Write the Notes & Credits box for it, properly, using the template. Name the original creator in your own words (even though the auto-banner is already there). List anything you imported. Add a "thank you" line if anyone helped you debug it.

Think: Why bother writing the remix credit again if the banner already says it? Because the banner is small and at the top — half of visitors skim past it. The Notes & Credits box is where readers look for context. Two mentions are better than one.

🔴 Stretch

Goal: Open a friend's shared project (with their permission). Read both their boxes as if you'd never seen the project before. Then play the project. Note three things their Instructions missed — a control you had to discover by accident, a goal that wasn't stated, or something on the Stage that confused you. Send your friend a polite comment with the three suggestions.

Think: The hardest part of writing Instructions is forgetting what you already know. The creator knows every key, every secret, every rule — and forgets that the player knows none of it. Reading someone else's project notes with fresh eyes teaches you to write your own with fresher eyes too.

Mini-Challenge — "Daniel's mystery game" 5 min

Spot the missing notes

Daniel shares a project called "Cat vs Roti". The Stage shows a cat sprite in the middle and a roti canai sprite at the top corner. The Instructions box says, in full: "Have fun!" The Notes & Credits box is empty.

You click the green flag. The cat just sits there. You press the arrow keys — nothing happens. You click on the cat — nothing happens. You click on the roti — nothing happens. You're stuck.

Then Daniel walks past and says "Oh, you have to press 'R' to throw the roti, and then click the cat to make it dodge."

What does Daniel's Instructions box need to say so that the next stranger doesn't need Daniel standing next to them?

Reveal one valid solution

Daniel's project has two hidden controls — press R to throw, click the cat to dodge. Neither is discoverable by trial. "Have fun!" isn't Instructions; it's a wave. Here's a real Instructions box for the same game:

Fixed Instructions box

HOW TO PLAY
Click the green flag to start.

GOAL
Dodge the flying roti for as long as you can. The longer
you survive, the higher your score.

CONTROLS
Press R to throw a roti from the top of the Stage.
Click on the cat to make it duck.

TIPS
The roti gets faster every 10 seconds. Watch the score counter
in the top-left corner.

Same game. Different experience. The fix took 90 seconds of typing. The lesson: every key your sprites listen to, every click your sprites respond to, every broadcast that starts the action — all of it has to live in the Instructions box, or the player won't find it. Hidden controls are bugs.

🚀 Mission — Write Notes & Credits for a Real Project

Pick one of your finished projects — preferably one that is already shared or nearly ready to share. Open its project page and fill in both text boxes using today's templates.

Instructions: goal in one sentence, every control listed, and how to start if it's not just the flag.
Notes & Credits: your first name or username, at least one inspiration or remix credit, and any music or art you didn't make yourself.
Bonus: ask a classmate to read only your Instructions box (not your Notes & Credits) and predict what your project does. If they get it right, your Instructions work.

✅ Done when: both boxes are filled in (no empty headings, no "Have fun!" placeholders), a classmate can describe your game from the Instructions alone, and the boxes score 6/6 on the template checklist (goal ✔ controls ✔ how-to-start ✔ your name ✔ inspiration ✔ any assets ✔). Going further: rate three of your own older shared projects on the same 6-point scale — and rewrite any that score below 4.

Recap 3 min

Every shared Scratch project has two text boxes below the Stage: Instructions (how to play, what the controls are, what the goal is) and Notes & Credits (your name, your inspirations, anyone you remixed, any music or art you didn't make). The Instructions box is for the player who just landed on your page. The Notes & Credits box is for the community member who wants to know where your ideas came from. Both boxes are empty by default. Both stay empty until you fill them in. Two paragraphs of typing turn a confusing project into a playable one.

Project page: The public-facing page strangers see when they open your shared Scratch project. The Stage with the green flag is up top, the two text boxes are below, and the orange Remix button is on the right. This is not the editor — to get here from the editor, click See project page.
Instructions: The left-hand text box on every project page. The "how to play" box. Should answer: what's the goal, what are the controls, and how do I start. Every key your scripts listen to has to be named here.
Notes & Credits: The right-hand text box on every project page. The "thank-yous and confessions" box. Should name you (first name or username only), any remix sources in your own words, and any imported music/art/sound.
Hidden control: A key or click your project listens to that isn't named in the Instructions. From the player's point of view, a hidden control is a bug — they'll never find it. Fix: name every input in the Instructions box.
Asset credit: Naming the source of any music, art, or sound effect you imported (not made yourself, not from the Scratch library). Free library assets need no credit; everything else does.

Homework 2 min

The Notes Pass. Open every shared project on your Scratch account — yes, all of them. For each one:

Read the current Instructions box. Score it out of 3 (one point each for: goal, controls, how to start).
Read the current Notes & Credits box. Score it out of 3 (one point each for: your name, inspirations or remix source, any external assets credited).
If any project scored below 5/6, rewrite that project's boxes using the two templates from today.
Save your changes — boxes update instantly, no need to re-share.

If you've never shared a project before, skip steps 1–3 and instead pick one finished project to share for the first time — but write both boxes properly before hitting Share.

Bring back next class:

A list of how many projects you updated and what their average score was before vs after.
Your answer to: "Of all your projects, which one had the worst Instructions? What did you not realise was confusing until you re-read it as a stranger?"

Heads up for next class: SCR-L04-44 covers the upload-time choices — Public vs Unshared, tags, and what's visible to strangers vs private to you. We'll talk about safe sharing for ages 10–14 and what personal info should never make it into your project notes.