Our second session was action packed and full of lots of brainstorming and excitement!
First, we covered the assigned homework: we asked the students to play their favourite game at home and think about what makes it fun. From Dead Space, to Minecraft, to Sims 4, students mentioned that going on quests, playing a character that was interesting and relatable, and experiencing challenging levels made their favourite games compelling and thought-provoking.
Next, we reviewed what makes a good story and what makes a good game from week 1, and discussed the hero stories everyone previously wrote with their teacher, Jennie, in English class. We then told the class their hero stories would be turned into a video game (WOW!) and we couldn’t wait for them to get started.
This week’s learning goal was planning (because all good games start with a plan!), and we introduced what it means to keep a game design document (GDD) while making a game. A GDD is a highly descriptive outline for a video game that is used to keep a team organized and on track. A GDD can include key elements such as the game’s scenario, setting, characters, genre, demographic, features and controls.
The class then went in their assigned pairs and began merging their written stories. We saw lots of excitement as pairs eagerly thought how they could turn their stories into video games, and overheard a lot of fun game elements like timers and boss minions while they were working!
We were so impressed by the GDDs the students wrote this class and can’t wait to see them turn into games!
-KIT