User Interface — all the buttons, text, and info the player sees.
HUD
Heads-Up Display — score, lives, timer shown during gameplay.
Menu
A screen with buttons — like a restaurant menu but for a game.
Every game has multiple screens. Think about what happens when you open a game:
Title / Menu Screen — The first thing you see. It shows the game name, a "Play" button, and maybe a "Settings" button. This is the front door of your game.
Gameplay Screen — Where you actually play! This shows the HUD with your score, lives, and timer while the action happens.
Game Over Screen — Appears when you lose. It shows "Game Over", your final score, and a "Try Again" button.
Instructions / How to Play Screen — Explains the controls and rules so new players know what to do.
Think about real games you play: Mario has a title screen with world selection, Minecraft has a menu with "Singleplayer" and "Multiplayer" buttons, and mobile games often have flashy title screens with "TAP TO PLAY".
Open a game on your phone or think of a game you play. How many different screens can you count before the actual gameplay starts? Share with your partner.
I can name 4 types of game screens.
2 Design a Title Screen
Your title screen is the first thing players see. It needs to look professional and exciting! Open Canva and follow these steps:
Step 1: Open Canva → Click "Create a design" → Choose "Custom size" → Type 1920 x 1080 px → Click "Create new design".
You now have a widescreen game-screen canvas.
Step 2: Set a background that matches your game. Click the background → Choose a colour, or go to Elements and search for a background image (e.g. "fantasy landscape", "space background", "pixel forest").
Your canvas should have a colourful, themed background.
Step 3: Add a LARGE heading with your game title. Click Text → "Add a heading" → Type your game name. Use Orbitron or another bold font. Make it BIG — at least 80pt. Place it near the top or centre.
Your game title should be the biggest, most eye-catching thing on the screen.
Step 4: Add a "PLAY" button. Go to Elements → search "button" or "rounded rectangle". Place it in the centre of the screen. Add text on top that says "PLAY" in bold white text.
You should have a clear, clickable-looking Play button.
Step 5: Add a smaller "How to Play" button below the Play button. Use the same style but make it smaller.
Two buttons visible: PLAY (big) and How to Play (smaller).
Step 6: Add a subtitle or tagline below the title (e.g. "An epic adventure awaits...", "Can you survive?", "Collect them all!"). Use a smaller font size and a lighter colour.
Your screen now has a title, tagline, and buttons.
Step 7 (Optional): Add your character sprite from L04! Go to your L04 design → download your character as PNG → come back to this design → Uploads → upload the image → place it on the title screen.
Your main character appears on the title screen.
Step 8: Make sure the title stands out. Use contrasting colours — light text on a dark background, or dark text on a light background. If the text is hard to read, add a dark rectangle behind it and lower the transparency.
Everything is easy to read and looks polished.
Step 9: Rename your design: Click the title at the top of Canva → Type "L13 - Title Screen - [Your Name]".
Your design is saved with the correct name.
Can't find a good background? Try searching "dark gradient", "game background", or use a solid dark colour. Keep it simple — the title and buttons are the stars of this screen!
My title screen has the game name, a Play button, and looks like a real game menu.
3 Design a Gameplay Screen (HUD)
The gameplay screen is what players see while they are playing. The important thing here is the HUD — the information displayed on screen during gameplay. Create a new Canva design:
Step 1: Create another 1920 x 1080 px design in Canva.
A fresh canvas ready for your gameplay screen.
Step 2: Use your game world background from L05 as the base. Go to your L05 design → download it as PNG → come back here → Uploads → upload the image → stretch it to fill the whole canvas. If you don't have L05, recreate a simple version of your game world.
Your gameplay screen shows the game world.
Step 3: Add HUD elements in the corners. Go to Text and add these:
• Top-left: "Score: 0" (white text, medium size ~24pt)
• Top-right: Search "heart" in Elements, add 3 heart icons + "Lives: 3" text
• Top-centre (optional): "Time: 60" for a timer
• Bottom-centre (optional): A small level name like "Level 1 - The Forest"
HUD info appears around the edges of the screen.
Step 4: Make the HUD text easy to read. Select your HUD text → make it white → add a slight shadow (click Effects → Shadow). OR place a small dark semi-transparent rectangle behind each text block.
HUD text is clearly readable over the game world.
Step 5:DO NOT cover the middle of the screen! The centre is where the gameplay happens. Keep all HUD elements in the corners and edges only.
The centre of the screen is clear for gameplay.
Step 6: Rename your design: "L13 - Gameplay Screen - [Your Name]".
Saved with the correct name.
My gameplay screen shows score, lives, and doesn't block the play area.
4 Design a Game Over Screen
The Game Over screen appears when the player loses. It should feel dramatic! Create one more Canva design:
Step 1: Create another 1920 x 1080 px design in Canva.
A fresh canvas for your Game Over screen.
Step 2: Use a dark or dramatic background. Click the background → choose a dark red, dark grey, or black colour. Or search Elements for "dark background" or "dramatic".
A moody, dramatic background is set.
Step 3: Add large "GAME OVER" text in the centre. Use red or white colour, a bold font (Orbitron works great), and make it very big — 100pt or larger.
GAME OVER dominates the screen.
Step 4: Add "Final Score: ___" text below the GAME OVER text. Use a smaller size (~36pt), white or light grey colour.
The player can see their score.
Step 5: Add a "TRY AGAIN" button. Use a rounded rectangle (green or blue works well) with "TRY AGAIN" text on top, placed below the score.
Players have a way to restart.
Step 6: Add a "MAIN MENU" button below the Try Again button. Make it slightly smaller or a different colour so players can tell the two buttons apart.
Two buttons: TRY AGAIN and MAIN MENU.
Step 7 (Optional): Add a sad version of your character, a skull icon, or a dramatic image from Elements (search "game over", "skull", "explosion").
Extra visual drama on the screen.
Step 8: Rename your design: "L13 - Game Over Screen - [Your Name]".
Saved with the correct name.
My Game Over screen has the words GAME OVER, a final score, and at least one button.
5 Save All 3 Screens
Check: You should now have 3 designs saved in Canva:
1. L13 - Title Screen - [Your Name]
2. L13 - Gameplay Screen - [Your Name]
3. L13 - Game Over Screen - [Your Name]
Remember: All your Canva designs are saved automatically. These 3 screens will be part of your portfolio later in the term — make sure they look polished!
Submit: Take a screenshot of each screen and submit all 3 screenshots to Google Classroom.
To screenshot in Canva: click Share → Download → choose PNG → click Download. Then upload the PNG files to Google Classroom.