Gaming II - Week 3

So far this semester, my students are energized and motivated about class. We have gone through most of the beginning brainstorming activities like Development Plan. Now, we are about to get into advanced flash skills. My students always find that time fun, learning new skills, but I always stress that the new skills are only worthwhile if you understand WHY and HOW they apply to your game idea. Technical skill can only go so far unless you have critical thinking skills to back it up. :-)

Student motivation

This semester, I plan to try to show my students the value of all of the Globaloria tools and try to model good behavior. Why should my students use the tools if I don't use them myself? I plan to also regularly post work and comment on model students who are excelling in a particular area. I hope all of these things start to show that a student will be recognized if they exhibit excellence.

Final thoughts on the semester

This weekend is currently THE weekend to get your Quarter 2 progress report done. They are due on Tuesday, which just so happens to be the second, and final, day of MCTC's Gaming I Fall 2009 presentations. The first day of presentations didn't go so well, they were very 11th hour-ish. I am happy to report that the second day of presentations went exponentially better. I guess I had put the fear of god into students who were going to be presenting that day, and they were fantastic presentations. I must find a way to make sure that students get their projects done in a timely manner and have these things taken care of. Ugh, if I can find that solution then I can become a rich man!

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!