1. Making Games games authoring software for educational and creative use

2. The problem Players want to create their own games Existing tools not suitable for children Media literacy needs to be extended to games

3. The software Building conditionality into a simulation package Based on object manipulation Creating rule-based and interactive RPGs and action adventure games

4. The research Describing a model of game literacy based on game authoring – will cover production, representation, language and audience Developing the pedagogies that can promote game literacy Developing an approach to participatory design with children’s technology

5. Design partners 11-14 year olds in school, after- school and out of school setting Girls Children with print literacy problems

6. Outcomes A game-authoring tool within a 3D environment A model of game literacy, developing the recent emphasis on digital and media literacies A pedagogic model, identifying how such literacies are taught and learned, formally and informally A model of technology design

7. BUILDING ON PREVIOUS WORK Sharing Spaces – all narrative, no game Playground – all game, no narrative Textuality in Videogames: narrative and game systems in RPGs; dramatic engagement

8. Progress to date Six-week course in media studies class Game analysis – developing a language for describing and interpreting games Group-based game design using loose template

12. Issues to be grappled with How to enable extensive, successive re-drafting? How to play with the software? At what level of granularity should authoring take place? How should authoring process be sequenced?

13. More issues How to provide a framework for game design without unduly restricting authors’ ideas? How to use genre? How to design balanced games? How to encourage consideration of player motivation?