Video Game Class

[Gregory DG]

I'm thinking of creating a video game course at my biz for kids 10 and up. What sort of things do you think would/could/should be included? I've done lots of programming in STOS and Atari 8-bit BASIC, so doing C++ or Assembly code isn't my thing. (Besides, I don't think the nitty gritty programming would be all that fun for that age group.)

 

So, if you were to create a 5-day, 3.5 hours per day "Video Game" class, what would you include? Video game history day? Animation day? Level design day? 3D graphics day?

 

All ideas welcomed and appreciated!

[brpocock]

Well, "plumbing" and mechanics of programming probably being out of that age range: animation, 3D, level/map design... puzzle designs/paradigms, progressive difficulty, exposition/tutorials, music as relates to actions in game, control layouts and on-screen user interface design, perspectives and camera placement, design documents (software design, subscreen flowcharts, game world maps, character sheets), ... and maybe discuss how hardware affects design...e.g. control placement, limitations on display and music, integrating full-motion video vs. 2D/3D animations, ...

 

I assume you're discussing modern console gaming, since you mentioned 3D?

[jetset]

Console repair and maintenance. Let them open up a few older consoles (2600, 5200, Colecovision) and a few modern ones (Xbox? PS1/2?) and let them learn what makes each one "tick" and how the technology has changed/improved over the years.

Hell if someone taught that I'd sign up!

[Gregory DG]

Well, "plumbing" and mechanics of programming probably being out of that age range: animation, 3D, level/map design... puzzle designs/paradigms, progressive difficulty, exposition/tutorials, music as relates to actions in game, control layouts and on-screen user interface design, perspectives and camera placement, design documents (software design, subscreen flowcharts, game world maps, character sheets), ... and maybe discuss how hardware affects design...e.g. control placement, limitations on display and music, integrating full-motion video vs. 2D/3D animations, ...

Some good ideas there. Many of them would be a bit beyond me though.

 

I assume you're discussing modern console gaming, since you mentioned 3D?

All gaming really. I would never leave Atari out of a video game class.

 

Console repair and maintenance. Let them open up a few older consoles (2600, 5200, Colecovision) and a few modern ones (Xbox? PS1/2?) and let them learn what makes each one "tick" and how the technology has changed/improved over the years. Hell if someone taught that I'd sign up!

Sounds like a good idea. I could probably handle that!

 

I was thinking I could use Game Maker to have the younger kids build a game. Or maybe use Quark (my favorite 3D mapping tool for Quake) to design some maps for the older kids.

[JagFan422]

i like the history idea, to me the history is what is really interesting.

[MetroidsAteMyAtari]

yea i would do the history part and have them build their own games. and taking consoles apart ae always fun to do but i would warn themn that they can seriously screw up a console if they dont know what they are doing ...you know the whole parental supervision part....that would be an interesting class though. It would be great if you could bring in all the consoles like pong, and wonder swan and stuff....just all the american games and japaneese consoles cause im sure alot of them think there was only atari nintendo and ps, xbox. i had to teach my little brother that the n64 was not the first game console. oh that was fun.

but hey you got a great idea with this class thing

[Gregory DG]

Any ideas on some easy game maker type software for ages 10 and up?

 

A class for 5 to 9 year olds would be drastically different from the 10 and up class!

[Gregory DG]

Had an idea for the first day of class (the motto being, "Easy to learn, difficult to master...")

 

Show them a bunch of games (via MAME) and talk about what makes them good. I was thinking of starting out with the older stuff (Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Galaga, etc...) and moving forwards to more the more modern.

 

After that discussion, I'd open the computers up for them to play a range of games (avoiding the gory and violent stuff like MK or Time Killers, etc.)

 

So what list of games to show besides the one mentioned? What is it about certain games that make them classic or memorable?

[ninjarabbit]

Maybe you could have these kids mass-mod consoles and you can feel like Kathy Lee Gifford ..... just a thought