1. Teaching Game Design in the Classroom Serious Games
Conference July, 2015 Nikki Navta, CEO [email protected]
2. Agenda My Experience/Context Your Experience/Context Why
Make Games? Demonstrate Blooms/Standards/Skills using Game Design
How to Start Making Games Tools/Tips/Resources Q & A
3. Nikki Navta CEO, Zulama Mother of teenage gamers puzzle
gamer (crosswords, Wurdle, Letterpress, Lume) board games
(Scrabble, Upwords, Catan) beautiful indie games (Contre Jour,
Flower, Journey)
4. Zulama = teacher training + curriculum + platform that
schools use to teach game design, programming, art, and
screenwriting
5. Why Games? Joan Ganz Cooney Center survey of 694 K-8
teachers: 74% use digital games in their classes, up from 50% two
years ago 65% note that lower-performing students show increased
engagement with content, and only 3% who show a decrease 53% find
that video games foster positive collaboration among students
6. About You Have you made games? If so, what tools have you
used? Do you use games in your school or work today? Why do you
want to make games? (What are your desired outcomes?)
7. Entertainment Technology Program
8. Screenwriting
9. Harmony High School, Osceola School District, Florida
10. Elizabeth Forward High School, PA
11. STEM + A = STEAM EDUCATION Science Technology Engineering
Art Mathematics
12. Classrooms that celebrate the process of design and making,
which includes overcoming challenges, produce students who believe
they can solve any problem. Martinez and Stager The Maker
Movement
13. Game Design Process 1. Idea/Goal/Solve Problem 2. Design a
prototype 3. Playtest 4. Analyze what happened 5. Playtest some
more 6. Analyze some more 7. . 8. Publish ADD AN IMAGE OF A DECK OF
ZULAMA CARDS HERE. A game is never finished!
14. Ive failed over and over. That is why I succeed Michael
Jordan
15. Outcomes Fast-track careersstudents ready for internships,
entry-level employment, college/university Students develop the
skills necessary for communication, collaboration, creative
expression, and job preparedness in a digital world Students come
away with portfolio-worthy games/artwork/code, and other artifacts
to use when applying for jobs/higher ed
16. How to Get Started Read Jesse Schells book, The Art of Game
Design (http://www.jesseschell.com/)
17. Paper, Markers, Dice!
18. kodu scratch GameMaker
19. Selecting a Tool type (toolkit/engine vs programming
language) community/tutorials age/experience level of students
platform (what you use &what it publishes to) learning curve
desired outcomes cost 2D/3D time
20. Resources Videos So You Want To Be a Game Designer
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-game-designer
Randy Pausch of CMUs Entertainment Technology Center, giving his
last lecture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo Jane
McGonigal's TED talk on how games can change the world:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
Jesse Schells Visions of the Gamepocalypse
http://fora.tv/2010/07/27/
21. Resources Podcasts Indie Game Developers Podcast
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/indie-game-development-podcast/id159065675
The Game Developers Radio
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-game-developers-radio/id307631856
EdGamer http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/edgamer/id445751915?mt=2
EdReach
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/edreach-all-edreach-shows/id412489812
Education Innovation
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/education-innovation/id722372916?mt=2
22. Resources Books Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for
Real Learning, by Mark Prensky Game Feel, by Steve Swink Character
Development & Storytelling for Games, by Lee Sheldon Game
Development Essentials, by Jeannie Novak The Gamer Generation:
Reaping the Benefits of Video Games, by Jennifer Wagner Video Games
and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital
Age, by Kurt Squire
