1. Aline Click, Northern Illinois University
Jason Underwood, Northern Illinois University
AECT 2011
2. The Digital Convergence Lab
Games Camp
◦ Theconcept
◦ The technology
◦ The experience
◦ Lessons learned
Virtual Worlds Camp
◦ The concept
◦ The technology
◦ The experience
◦ Lessons learned
3. Interdisciplinary Partnership
◦ University Libraries and Division of
Outreach, Engagement, and
Information Technology Services
Innovative technologies and innovative
application of technologies, with an
emphasis on learning
Primary Missions
◦ Experiential Learning
◦ Shared Research and Development
◦ Community Outreach
4. Provide an environment that engages middle-school aged kids of
all backgrounds and skill levels to the concepts and practice of
media design and development, fundamental concepts of logic
and programming, and provide an outlet for creativity.
Objective of games camp: By the end of this
camp, you will design and develop
a video game.
4 Days, 9a-4p
2009, 2010, 2011
5. DCL Staff
◦ Educational Technology
◦ Media Specialists
◦ 3D Artist/Programmers
Graduate Assistants
◦ Art
◦ Educational Technology
Faculty Fellow
◦ Art Education
9. Play/Discuss
Build
Play/Discuss
Build
Play/Discuss
Lunch
Think, Design, Playtest, Change
(GameTech, Boys and Girls Club of America, 2009)
10. Play-Consoles
Games you love/What makes a good game
◦ Not too hard, not too easy, gets harder
with you, space out, don’t notice time
◦ Fun
◦ Looks good
Play/Design Tour-Knytt Stories
GameMaker
Play/Design Tour-World of Goo
GameMaker Clown Game
Game Ideas Brainstorm
Design Documents
13. GameMaker: Worktime
Play Testing
Reflection
Packaging
Sharing/Celebration
Where do we go from here?
14.
15. OLPC
“Build time” is resource intensive
Staff Debrief
Balance whole class versus
individual instruction
◦ Job Aids/Web/Youtube
Expectations
Consoles/Games/Building
Lunch Games
16. Learned how to create game by:
◦ Instructor demo: 75%
◦ Asked peer: 56.3%
◦ “Messing Around”: 37.5%
I enjoyed creating my digital game:
◦ 87.5% Strongly Agree, 12.5% Agree
I was able to create the content of my game to convey my message to
players
◦ 18.8% Strongly Agree, 43.8% Agree, 37.5% Don’t Agree
I feel like I learned how to identify and solve problems
◦ 37.5% Strongly Agree, 50% Agree, 12.5% Don’t Agree
My ability to express my thoughts and ideas has been enhanced
through making games
◦ 50% Strongly Agree, 43.8% Agree, 6.3% D
I used many artistic skills to create my digital game.
◦ 37.5% Strongly Agree, 50% Agree, 12.5% Don’t Agree
17. How did you benefit?
◦ I now know how to make videogames at home
◦ I became even more creative
◦ I may now have a career in this industry
What did you like?
◦ I liked being able to make your own sprites through your imagination and ideas
◦ Getting to play my finished game in the end
◦ Programming
What didn’t you like?
◦ The frustration of the computer not understanding
◦ How hard it was
◦ It was too short. All the glitches in my game
◦ Learning the ropes
18. Provide middle school students an opportunity to learn to build
independently and collaboratively in a virtual
environment, applying design and development concepts in 2D
and 3D art, and provide an outlet for creative energy with a high
impact, engaging experience.
Objective: Create a presence in a virtual world with a customized
avatar, clothing, accessories, and a structure, such as a
home, castle, fort.
4 days, 9a-4p
2009, 2010, 2011
19. Most attended the first week “Games Camp” but not all
Ages 11-13
13 Males and 3 Females
26. Opensim Challenges
Theme for Direction
Building with limits, landform and prim size
Diversity of Activity/Experience
Parcels/Etiquette
Anonymity
Keeping track of stuff
27. How did you benefit from the experience?
◦ “It helped me learn how to get past difficult problems”
◦ “I think it helped me when I eventually try to get a job in game
design”
What are things you liked about the experience?
◦ “Customizing my avatar and space”
◦ “I liked being able to build anything without having to do a 5 hour
search for only one type item, and how everything is accessible to
you”
28. What are things you disliked?
◦ “the camp is too short!”
◦ “Less lectures”
Please provide suggestions to help us improve our instruction
◦ “I don’t have any suggestons for the camp I didn’t have any
problems in the camp, in my head the camp is perfect”
Please provide any other comments…
◦ “It would be nice if you could make the camp a little longer”
◦ “MAKE THE CAMP LONGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
29. I would like to have a career in the video game industry.
Strongly agree 37.5%, Agree 43.8%, Disagree 6.3%, Strongly
Disagree 12.5%
I liked playing with the virtual spaces created by my peers.
Strongly agree 75%, Agree 25%
I forgot about time passing while participating in the
activities.
Strongly agree 69%, Agree 25%, 6% Disagree
30. Girls Scouts Game Design Workshop
Aspergers students (middle and high school)
At-risk residential camp (high school)
Teacher Professional Development
Art Education (undergraduate and graduate level students)
High School After School Art Club
31. Jason Underwood: junderwood@niu.edu
Aline Click: aclick@niu.edu
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/Aliandrews
Digital Convergence Lab: http://dcl.niu.edu
Facebook Group: NIU Digital Convergence Lab
Twitter: NIUConvergence
Illustrations by Scott Fleming
Photographs by Elizabeth Anderson
Editor's Notes
Technology camps for middle and high school students
About the Digital Convergence Lab
About the camp
About the camp staff
We useGameMaker by Yoyo games.
We useGameMaker as the main application in our games camp because we have found it is easy for students to learn, and it has a huge community of practice, including Indy game developers.
One laptop per child was the route we decided to take so that every child has the same opportunities. However that means 16 different games were being developed and 16 sets of unique questions are being asked.
At lunch we walked the student through our landmark building “Altgelt Hall”. After lunch we took students for a virtual tour of Altgeld Hall in Second Life.