The Workshop...
...is where students explore game design software applications of their
choice from a menu of different leveled options, such as
GameFroot, Game Salad, Game Star Mechanic, GameMaker,
Construct2, Unity, and others.*
Each student will achieve competency with at least one of these
design platforms, and explore several programming languages .
Then each student will start with "the pitch" (a proposal) and
create a timeline and a hard-copy (paper) mockup for their own
game. Next they will build their game, and we will culminate the unit by
playing each other’s games and offering constructive feedback.
(You can imagine that there is also a great deal of social/emotional learning going on!) Unit 2 will also continue
growing the taxonomy, exploring the history, and will begin to examine the business strategies and marketing techniques utilized by successful game design companies. Again, the overarching question will be to identify one’s affinity for a role in the design process.
Sample Applications from the
Curriculum Menu
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GameMaker Did you know that you don't need to be a programmer or an artist to create a cool 2D game? If you can drag and drop, you can use GameMaker from YoYo Games to build a game and then export it to mobile platforms, including Windows, iOS, Android, Kindle and more. Get the details from industry experts who created Dave in the Cave and worked on World of Warcraft.
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Are you interested in becoming a game creator? Want to make the next Flappy Bird? Look no further than Construct 2, a cross-platform HTML5 game creator designed specifically for 2D games. It supports multiple platform exports, including free export to Windows Phone and Windows 8. With no previous experience, using the popular "drag-and-drop" tool, watch exciting step-by step demos, and see how easy it is to set up Construct 2, build games, and publish to the Microsoft platform.
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Flatverse
Help Bot, the world’s most adventurous robot explorer, get un-stuck in Flatverse! Plus, learn how to build a computer game from scratch. Flatverse is strange, vast, and two-dimensional, but you and Bot can conquer it through code! Learn about the Touch Develop programming environment. Get an introduction to programming language syntax. Hear about the coordinate system commonly used in computer games. Explore conditional statements (if-then-else statements). Learn about events. Get an introduction to repetition in programming (for loops).
4. Learn to Code with CODExist
Want to add new elements to a game you've created in TouchDevelop? Build on Hour of Code with TouchDevelop and Learn to Code with CODExist: The Birth of Bot, and find how to make a mobile game more engaging and exciting!
In this mobile game development course, experience firsthand how to provide a player with instructions, make gameplay more challenging, add graphic effects and animations, use variables and cloud data, and publish and share a game. Each module of the course is independent of the others, so you can explore what most interests you in whatever order you like.
(NOTE: This is intended for students who are new to programming but familiar with programming concepts, such as variables and data types, object properties and functions, for loops, and user-defined functions.)
5. JavaScript Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners
Want to learn a JavaScript? Learn JavaScript concepts for web- based video games, enhanced user interfaces, and dynamic
webpages. Learn the fundamentals, including getting the tools,
* Please note that this as new software applications become available, our menu will evolve.