How to Make a Video Game (Intro to Game Design) (Ages 10-15)

Class Description

In this class, students will learn the basics of video game design. Over the course of 5 weeks they will go from having no former knowledge to having a grasp over the major concepts, including knowledge of how to create their very own video games. This class gives students the skills to turn whatever fantastical things they can imagine into reality.

Many other game-making classes don’t actually teach the universal fundamentals of game design, but this class does!

Live classes will be held once per week, for an hour per session, for five weeks. During this time students will be taught the basics of game design, including character design, level creation, game physics, and basic game coding, as well as how to use the game design software. No previous experience or knowledge is necessary — this class is for beginners!

As we go, I will create a game from scratch and the students will follow along with me. I’ll show how to do all sorts of different things which the students will have the option of adding to their games. They will have lots of freedom to customize their games however they see fit, making them about whatever they want.

Class Requirements

Please make sure you have downloaded and installed GameMaker Studio 2 before the first day of class. Gamemaker Studio is only available for Mac or PC computers. Unfortunately, it’s not available for phones, tablets, or Chromebooks. It’s free!

Class Supplies

– A desktop or laptop computer
– GameMaker Studio 2 (available at https://www.yoyogames.com/get) There are multiple licenses — the free one will work perfectly for this class.

Gamemaker Studio 2 uses a proprietary language called GML, which is a variation of C, which is perhaps the most important and popular coding language in the world. Learning to code in GML gives students a huge knowledge of C and C-based languages, and prepares them to learn other languages as well (as the structures are the same). Gamemaker Studio is a very well-respected game-making program. You can find a list of famous, successful, and award-winning games made using it here: https://www.yoyogames.com/showcase