Motivates, interests and engages. Teaches problem solving skills. Allows for creativity and imagination. Demonstrates project design. Encourages teamwork. Has many cross-curricular components.

Coding is NOT necessarily required. Both commercial and freeware software is available online. All students are interested in video games of some type. The finished product is interactive. Students are eager to share their games with their friends.

Brainstorm. Create a design document. Create sprites & define their properties. Define events and actions. Design interface and gameplay. Music and sound effects. Programming. Testing, testing and more testing.

Daydream and come up with creative ideas for a game. Once you have an idea: – is it a really good idea? – is it worth spending time and energy on? – do you have access to the necessary resources? If you are rehashing an existing game, does it improve the original and bring new challenges?

a document that describes and defines all pertinent details of the game in development, including presentation methods, the story line, instructional strategies, flowcharts and gameplay. (International Game Developers Association)

Considers the target audience. Specifies the game’s core objectives. Lists the challenges or levels. Describes how the player will interface and how many players can play. Depicts a theme or genre. Defines unique features that are essential to gameplay.

Two or three-dimensional images that are part of an animation or larger scene. There are over 1,500 sprites in Super Mario Brothers 3.

Actions that take place as a result of another action. One event can trigger a series of events. Examples: Collision between objects. User clicks an object or presses a key. The timer reaches a specific value. Sprite enters or leaves the frame.

How many players can play? Will they take turns, or will they play at the same time? What input mechanism will the player use? Keyboard? Mouse? Controller? or Combination? How will the game menus be laid out and what will they look like?

What will the levels, worlds or frame look like? In what ways can the sprites move? What other properties do they have? Is a score calculated? Do players get more than one life? Is there a time limit to complete a level or certain task?

Music helps set the theme and bring the game to life. Affects the mood of the player on both the conscious and subconscious level. Sound effects emphasize events taking place or draw the player’s attention to a certain event – less is more.

Games can be programmed using virtually any programming language, including: – Java – C++ – Visual Basic Much easier to use a game creation engine: – Game Editor – The Games Factory – Game Maker

Lite version is freeware ( Uses an object-oriented, event-driven approach. Many built-in functions. Drag and drop. Allows coding for advanced users. Comes with a picture, sprite and animation editor built-in. Many tutorials and teaching resources available.

Functionality testing is done by playing the game. Look for general problems with the game or its interface. Is the game stable? When/why does it crash? Are the game mechanics correct? Are the graphics displayed properly?

Graphic Design Music & Sound Effects Game Promoting & Marketing Game Documentation & Packaging Project Management Issues of Violence, Health, Intellectual Property, Addiction