Directions for making a PowerPoint hyper-linked activity into an

Interactive Video Game

By Tony Mitchell – PowerPoint Version 2007

After a hyperlinked activity has been completed, and tested many times, it can be setup to function like a game, with limitations on the user to make the activity more fun. To prepare your activity follow the steps below.

Before implementing the steps below, make a back up copy of your activity. Then:

• Turn off the “Advance on mouse click” feature: 
• Select the Animations ribbon and then take the check out of the ‘On Mouse Click’ box on the right side of window, beneath ‘Advance Slide’ header
• Click on the ‘Apply To All’ button to the left of the Advance Slide button
• Note: if you needed a slide to advance on its own after several seconds, this window lets you make that choice. Merely put a check

• Prevent the little navigational button from appearing in the Slideshow View. This button allows the user to move to the slides of his choice in the Slideshow View. We do not want to allow that in our activity
• Click on the bright yellow/orange Office button in the top left-hand corner
• Scroll to the bottom of this menu/window and click on PowerPoint Options button
• Click on the Advance link in the panel on the left
• Scroll down to the header – Slide Show
• In this section, the Slide show section, take the checks out of the top three choices. Only leave “End with black slide” checked
• Click OK

• Prevent keyboard arrows from advancing the show in the slideshow view
• Go to Slideshow menu and select Set up Show
• Change Show type to Browse at a kiosk

• To insure your activity works properly on the web, without including navigation helps that would render the game useless, and being sure the animation you included will be visible
• Click on the bright yellow/orange Office button in the top left-hand corner
• Scroll to the bottom of this menu/window and click on PowerPoint Options button
• Click on the Advance link in the panel on the left
• Scroll down to the bottom of this window and click on the “Web Options” button
• Remove the check from the top box, “Add slide navigation controls”
• Be sure a check is in the second box, “Show slide animation while browsing”
• Click on OK

• The next step in preparing your interactive video game will be determined by a choice. Will this activity/game be viewed on a computer in your room, or do you plan to upload it to the internet and let your student ‘play’ it online.

To use in your classroom:

• We want to make our PowerPoint activity function like a game, such that the user cannot simply press the ESC key and end the game, soooo……
• Make a backup copy of your PowerPoint activity (because we are about to save your activity such that it can no longer be edited)
• Be sure you have two documents or activities, one backed up and stored somewhere, and one to which you are about to make changes
• Once you have made a back up that can be edited and corrected if needed, (and it is often needed), open one of your activity documents and go the file menu and choose “Save As”
• Click on the bright yellow/orange Office button in the top left-hand corner and choose SAVE AS and “PowerPoint Show (*.PPS)
• Leave the name of the document the same, but you will probably save the Show to the desktop
• Click the Save button
• Now when the student double clicks on the Show (it has a blue arrow in the bottom left corner of the icon), the activity launches, but when he clicks the ESC key, the activity ends but he cannot edit the game or move through the slides
• Put the original, editable, PowerPoint Activity somewhere safe and inaccessible to students

If you choose to upload your activity to the internet click here. Uploading your activity to the internet is somewhat more involved, but does make your activity available to a much broader audience (the whole world), so be sure it is accurate and functions properly after it is published to the internet. Also, please send me a link to your activity by clicking here.