**Course Title:** Introduction to Programming with Scratch **Section Title:** Creating Animations and Interactive Stories **Topic:** Building interactivity into stories through user choices **Objective:** By the end of this topic, you will be able to create interactive stories in Scratch that allow users to make choices and influence the storyline. **What are interactive stories?** Interactive stories are a type of multimedia narrative that allows the user to influence the storyline through their choices. This can be achieved in Scratch by using a combination of broadcasting, events, and user input. **Why build interactivity into stories?** Building interactivity into stories can make them more engaging and immersive for the user. It allows the user to feel like they are a part of the story and can influence the outcome. This can be particularly useful for creating interactive games, simulations, and educational content. **How to build interactivity into stories** To build interactivity into stories in Scratch, you will need to use a combination of the following techniques: * **Broadcasting:** Use broadcast messages to send signals between sprites and trigger different events. * **Events:** Use events to trigger different actions and storylines based on user input. * **User input:** Use the "ask" and "answer" blocks to get user input and store it in a variable. * **Loops:** Use loops to repeat actions and create different storylines based on user input. **Example:** Creating a choose your own adventure story Let's say you want to create a choose your own adventure story where the user has to make choices to progress through the story. You can use the following steps to achieve this: 1. Create a new project in Scratch and add two sprites: a main character and a background. 2. Create a broadcast message called "start story" and send it when the green flag is clicked. 3. Create two events: one for when the user chooses option A and one for when the user chooses option B. 4. Use the "ask" and "answer" blocks to get user input and store it in a variable. 5. Use a loop to repeat actions and create different storylines based on user input. Here is an example of what the code might look like: ``` When I receive [start story] Ask [What do you want to do?] and wait Store answer in variable [user choice] If [user choice] = [A] Broadcast [go left] Else Broadcast [go right] When I receive [go left] Turn left by (10) degrees Move forward by (10) steps Say [You went left!] for (2) seconds When I receive [go right] Turn right by (10) degrees Move forward by (10) steps Say [You went right!] for (2) seconds ``` **Practical takeaways** To build interactivity into stories in Scratch, remember to: * Use broadcasting and events to trigger different actions and storylines. * Use user input to get user choices and store them in variables. * Use loops to repeat actions and create different storylines based on user input. **External resources** For more information on building interactivity into stories in Scratch, you can visit the following resources: * Scratch Wiki: [Broadcasting](https://en.scratch-wiki.info/wiki/Broadcast) * Scratch Wiki: [Events](https://en.scratch-wiki.info/wiki/Event) * Scratch Wiki: [User Input](https://en.scratch-wiki.info/wiki/User_Input) **What's next?** In the next topic, we will cover **Understanding lists (arrays) in Scratch**. This will cover how to create and manipulate lists in Scratch, which is an essential skill for more advanced programming concepts. **Leave a comment/ask for help** If you have any questions or need help with this topic, please leave a comment below.