Heads up- lots of spinning and flashing! Click the green flag, then move the mouse pointer to the center of the stage. When the music starts, move your mouse pointer around the stage. No need to click anything.
I spent a really long time thinking about what to make for this project. I create and use variables all the time and I wanted to try to do something new. Then I remembered and epiphany of sorts I had a few months ago: ALL the rounded, bubble shaped blocks are variables. Then I realized that the prompt reads "use a variable" not "create a variable". So I looked through the block categories noting the variables in each. Then I painted my background and when I was finished I was so pleased with it that I didn't want to cover it up with a sprite. It occurred to me that I have never made a Scratch project without a sprite, so that was the challenge I set myself. I decided to use the "mouse x" and "mouse y" variables from the Sensing category as the basis of my project. I added two of the graphic effects blocks from "Looks". One set to "color" and one to "whirl". I put the mouse x and y variables in there and tested. The result was a bit overwhelming so I used some operators to decrease the increments of change. That gave me a swirly color explosion that I was happy with. I have a well documented obsession with using the music extension to randomly generate "music". Usually I pick the notes and the randomness in how they are played is based on the movement and interactions of sprites. I kept on with my chosen variables, mouse x and y. As with the whirl and color effects, I needed operators to make sure the notes played stayed within the range of human hearing. I created two mostly identical scripts, each with 2 notes to be played in succession, but I switched the parts of the script with "mouse x" and "mouse y". That spread the high and low notes around the different areas of the stage. In one of those scripts I added a "mouse x" and a "mouse y" divided by 10 as the "for... beats" so that the notes from the 2 scripts were note playing at the same time. Finally I added a cowbell, because... cowbell. I want to play with this idea of projects without sprites some more. However, I am really sure that I want to give it to my students as a programming challenge. I am imagining the looks on their faces when I tell them they cannot use any sprites. I don't think I would change anything about the project or process, unless it would be to remember that every rounded block is a variable. I actually really like how this creative process played out. That is no always the case as I spin my wheels and do a ton of work only to discover a much simpler way 2 hours into the project.
