Still alive...

It has been a while since I posted here, and quite a bit has transpired. We finally got all of our student's paper prototypes recorded and posted to YouTube since we were having severe problems with Viddler. We completed the flash topics at the end of the curriculum for this semester which was pretty much a review of the mini game topic. Now, at this point, our students are putting the finishing touches on their game presentations. This coming Monday is the first of two days of presentations. The second presentation day will not take place till Tuesday, December 15. The semester has been filled with minor setbacks (swine flu for example), but ultimately I fill it has been a success on many levels and I look forward to seeing a majority of these students continue their game ideas in Gaming II next semester.

The scourge of the flu...

Paper prototype recording took place on both Monday and Wednesday this week, yet only half of the class has been recorded. The reason for this has not been long, in-depth recordings. The reason has been increased sickness-related absences. Several students missed both days, and my plan for Monday is have make-up recording sessions while Josh continues to start the Planning Your Game topic. From the few recorded thus far there have been some great game ideas. Stay tuned for links to some of the gems!

Paper Prototypes continue...

Gaming I students continue to make progress on their paper prototypes. Student attendance has greatly decreased due to flu-related issues. I hope flu season doesn't totally grind progress to a halt. Next week we will start to record the paper prototypes and post them to Viddler. Next week will be week 8, leaving half the semester for students to turn paper ideas into flash reality.

The starting of Paper Prototypes

Yesterday officially started the beginning of Paper Prototypes in Josh's Gaming I class. Some students have yet to come up with a finalized game idea, but I feel they will solidify they ideas soon. In the meantime, I invite everyone to watch the following YouTube video for inspiration!

One of my many memorable games

Before 950 different versions of Worms on the market, there was just plain old Worms on PC. This game, whose premise seems silly at best, is much more than what is shown on the surface.
Worms put you in a situation where you have 4 playable characters, that happen to be worms, on your team versus an opposing team of 4 worms. The object of the game is to use the varied arsenal of weapons at your disposal to kill the opposing team before they kill you.
This was one of the first games that I had an interest in "modding" or modifying or adapting my own content to.


With this game, you could create your own player maps and add your own .WAV sounds to add different voices to your worms. There was definitely a skill factor involved when using certain weapons that were affected by wind in the game. Overall, I have very fond memories of Worms. I am already wondering when I left my install disc...

First posted flash FLA/SWF - end of 4th week of class

Wednesday signified the end of the 4th week of class. That class was the culmination of the students Mini Game project. The students learned the skills of publishing and posting their FLA and SWF files to the wiki. Several of the students went the extra mile and embellished their games. Some fantastic examples of student work can be found here at KraZy's page and Bagh Nakh Kora's file. These students went above and beyond adding some self-learned skills such as poisoned carrots (which caused negative points), timers, and rabbits moved in all four directions. I can see that this semester has some fantastic potential!

Mini Game Project

Today I finished leading MCTC's Fall 09 Gaming I students through the Mini Game Project. I am Josh's support educator, so typically I try to add expertise where required. Last Wednesday and today though I temporarily put on my Lead Educator hat and led the students through the mini game. I hope leading this session allows our students to see that both Josh and I are there to support them with our expertise.