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A Languages Online Sentence Game begins with a sentence that has one or more words missing, and number of possible 'answer' words. The player must select the correct answer words to complete the sentence. This game focuses on sentence structure and word order, and depending on the answer options that appear in the game, it can be used to for practising agreements, adjectival endings, articles or many other grammatical points.
The diagram below shows the information you can enter into the Game Maker and how it appears in a finished game.

Here are some some examples of how the Sentence Game can be used:
| Sentence or phrase/clue | Correct gap word(s) | Possible 'trick' gap word(s) |
| I have a pet ___. (with a picture of a cat) | cat | dog, bird etc |
| Lei ha gli _____ _______. | occhi, piccoli | pancia, occhio, piccolo |
| ___ Milch | die | das, der |
| Le crayon est ____. (with a picture of a green pencil) | vert | verte, vertes, verts |
| 月曜日に、えりかさんとえいがにいきました。 (with げつようび as a clue) |
月曜日 | 火曜日、水曜日、金曜日 |
The Sentence Game Maker also offers two ways the player can complete the sentence. In both games the task is exactly the same, the player must select the correct word(s) for the gap(s). The only difference is the way the player selects the words.
Drag and drop the words
The player completes the phrase by dragging and dropping the correct article into place. |
'Shoot' the words in the correct order
The player must complete the phrase by 'shooting' the correct word. |
When making your game you can select from these two options, or you can nominate to let the player chose the type of game.
You can make games in any language. Any script (for example Arabic or Japanese) that can be typed on your computer can be used.
When your students make their own multimedia language games, they are practising important skills:
When complete, the game is saved on your computer in the location you specify. From here you can copy the game to a disc, memory stick or onto another computer or network to share with others.
The Game Maker allows you to save your game as different types of files, which are described below.
If saved as a web page the contents of the game folder will look like this: ![]() Double click on the web icon to open and play. |
If saved as a program file the contents of the game folder will look like this: ![]() Double click on the game icon to open and play. |
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As a web page This version of the game will open and play in a web browser. Like other web pages, it can be included as part of an intranet or internet website, or in a digital portfolio. As a web page it can be played on both PCs and Macs. NOTE: To view and play the game using the the html file your computer will need to have Flash Player 8 or better installed. Most computers will have a Flash Player already installed. If not, it is free and can be easily downloaded. See the Technical information page for more details. |
As a program file This game file does not require a Flash Player or a web browser. It can opened and played on any PC. It cannot be included in a website. NOTE: Some school networks prevent students from saving 'exe' files such as this one. If you are unsure check with your IT support. |
The 'data' folder contains the text, pictures or sounds used in the game. Both versions of the game require all these files to work. If you delete or change the name of any files within this folder the game may no longer work. |
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As seen above, completed games are made up of a number of different folders and files. When copying, moving or sending a game, all the files and folders must be included.
Copying or moving a game
To copy or move the game, select the game folder, cut or copy it and paste it in the new location.
Emailing a game
To email a game you must first 'zip' the game folder. On most computers, this can be done by right clicking on the game folder and selecting the 'Add to zip' option. This creates a new file (see below). The zipped folder packages all the components of the game together. Attach the zipped folder to your email.
The person who recieves the email must 'unzip' the folder. To do this, double click on the zipped folder and select save. They can then play the game opening the game folder and opening the game page.

A zipped game folder
Including a game in a learning management system
To include a game in a learning management systems (such as Moddle or Blackboard) you must first 'zip' the game folder, and include this as a resource. In most systems you can select the file within the zip you want students to view. In such cases select the game page. When the student clicks on the link the game will open automatically.
The Game Maker allows you to open and make changes to the content of a Sentence Game. When you load a game into the Sentence Maker, you can make the following changes:
NOTE: When you load a game back into the Game Maker, you cannot change the type of task. For example if your game uses a pictures, you cannot change it to a game that uses recordings. To do that you need to make a new game.
Translating a game into another language
Games in one language can easily be translated into another language using the Game Maker.
For example, to translate a French game with pictures into Italian, load the French game into the Game Maker, change the text to Italian and then save the changes as a new game.
You can play the game to check the text, pictures or recordings of a student's game.
A quicker way of checking the contents of a student's game is by loading it into the Sentence Game Maker. To do this, select the 'Change existing game' option and navigate to the game you want to check. Once opened, you can view the information that the student entered simply by clicking through each step of the Game Maker.
To install and run the Sentence Game Maker the computer must have the following:
Installation of software in school systems is often restricted. This may mean that only your IT technician is able to install software. Talk to you IT support about how the software is best installed in your school.
When completed, a game will save the following files to the folder specified by the user:
If saved as a web page:
If saved as a program:
Some schools' IT systems prevent students from saving these files. Check with your IT support that students are permited to save these files in their folders on the server. If not, it may be possible to create a new folder without these restrictions where students can save their games.
The default save path for completed games is the users 'My Document' folder. Voice recordings are temporarily saved in the users 'temp' folder. To change these default save paths see the Technical Notes page
File types supported
Pictures used in the Sentnece Game can be JPEGs, BMPs, WMFs, PNGs or GIFs (but NOT animated GIFs) . The picture box is 240 pixels wide by 180 pixels high, bigger images will automatically be resized to fit. Sound files must be either WAVs or MP3s. (Note: The Sentence Game Maker includes a sound recorder that allows you to save and use you own voice recordings in your game.) Video clips must be FLVs. Other video formats can be converted to FLV using a video editing program or one of the many file converters available on the web.
Each step of the Game Maker has a detailed 'Help' page. Click on the '?' icon in the top right hand corner to view the page.
For futher assistance contact the Languages Online Team (languages.online@edumail.vic.gov.au)
Contact: Languages Online Team (languages.online@edumail.vic.gov.au)