This MakeCode Arcade manual introduces a flexible approach to learning game making through the 3M model (Missions, Maps and Methods), developed through practice and shared through research. It supports creative, accessible, and learner-led coding. The manual itself is available online here:
https://3m-makecode.jammlabs.org.uk/
It includes a full web version, along with downloadable formats (PDF and EPUB), making it easy to use across different contexts.
What is distinctive about this manual is the use of the 3M approach: Missions, Maps and Methods. This model emerged from practice and was first shared as part of early research dissemination in a peer-reviewed edited volume:
Chesterman, M. (2023) ‘Game making and coding fluency in a primary computing context’, in T. Keane and A.E. Fluck (eds) Teaching Coding in K-12 Schools: Research and Application. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 171–187. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21970-2_12.
In that chapter, key elements of the learning design were brought together into the 3M model as a way of communicating the approach to practitioners.
- Missions provide structured, achievable tasks that give learners a clear starting point and quick feedback through working game elements
- Maps offer a way of navigating learning, helping learners and facilitators see pathways, connections, and progression across different ideas
- Methods describe the ways of working, including playtesting, collaboration, and creative exploration within sessions
The model was designed as a facilitator-facing synthesis rather than a fixed framework. It simplifies a more complex and evolving design process, but remains a useful way of understanding how game making activities can be structured while still supporting learner agency.
A key part of this is the idea of learning dimensions, which are mapped within the manual here:
https://3m-makecode.jammlabs.org.uk/docs/2_getting-started/learningdimensions/
These dimensions provide a way of understanding different aspects of learning that are happening at the same time, for example coding concepts, game design ideas, and creative exploration. Rather than a linear progression, learners move across these dimensions in different ways, and the map can be used by both facilitators and learners to support reflection and navigation.
This connects directly to the role of “Maps” within the 3M approach, offering a visible structure to potentially counteract a feeling of a sprawling structure.
As with other FLOSS Manuals, it is fully open and remixable. The content can be reused, adapted, and built on in a wide range of learning settings.