All About Designing your own Game Jeff Bush Scalable Game Design University of Colorado

Why Game Design? Motivates students Enables students to see themselves as ‘programmers’ Produces Computational Thinking Skills Enables students to understand and create simulations Creates Problem Solvers

Why Design your own Game (DYOG)? Empowers students by valuing their ideas Teaches them they can be creative, have fun, and solve hard problems Enables students to see programming as more than following instructions Produces Computational Thinking Skills in different contexts Creates Problem Solvers

Game/Agent Design Tools Several tools on the Wiki to help Agent Design Handout (can be used in other games too) Agent design online Game design tool Feel free to mix and match to suit your teaching style Stay tuned for more resources to come Rubric Complete game design unit worksheets/handouts Examples from other teachers

Start with a description of your story Consider different conditions and actions to spark new ideas. Describe what will happen in the game. Which agents will be user-controlled When will the game end…

Your story Have students come up with a paragraph that describes their story. Tell them that it is a work in progress but the initial story is a good starting point. What are the NOUNS of this description? Which are agents and which are shapes?

NOUNS = AGENTS (and shapes) You are a frog. Your task is simple: hop across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks who come out of (and go back into) tunnels, until you get to the edge of a river, where you must keep yourself from drowning by crossing safely to your grotto at the top of the screen by leaping across the backs of turtles and logs.

Agent Deign This process applies to guided discovery agent design for any type of game Have students write out what agents and shapes (depictions) are in their game and describe the behavior Have them try to identify CTPs for each agent Have them describe the agent’s interaction with other agents

Let’s Jump In Open AgentCubesOnline.com Enter your name/password and login Click on NEW PROJECT Save your file as FROGGER

Create your agents 10 minutes End

Now design your game board

What are your VERBS VERBS are ACTIONS ACTIONS are CTPs Have them highlight the verbs in their stories, these are the actions/CTPs Challenge them to have a variety of CTPs in their story

End Create your behaviors Have them turn their verbs into behaviors They will likely realize that they need more/different agents and keep revising the game until they have it right 10 minutes End

Challenge Activities Multiple levels Push them to use new CTPs Pair them up to brainstorm new extension ideas Ask them what they they feel comfortable programming and what they don’t, challenge them to push their comfort level Have them add layers to make it 3D

Play Time!!!! Play each other's games give some positive feedback Suggestions for potential extensions or improvements Spend some time working on revisions Talk with your table about how you for see teaching this. Be prepared to share What problems/hurdles do you expect? What do you see as the major value/assets of designing your own game?