Video Games
for Self Expression & Education
An L3D Presentation by:
Cami Dodson
www.BoulderGameDev.com
Download this Presentation
www.supercami.com
About Me
• BS in Computer Science, May ’07
• Certificate in Technology, Arts & Media
• Work
– L3D, Craft Technology Lab, TA for GEEN 1400,
Geology Department
– Circadence, LightReading.com
• Clubs
– Game Developer’s Club (CS)
– Technology, Arts & Media Club (Atlas)
I Graduated!
About Me
• International Game Developer’s
Association (IGDA) Scholarship
• Best in Section – Design Expo ’07
• Active Learning Award
• www.supercami.com
Familiar Faces
Overview
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Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Overview
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Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Game Developer’s Club
• Helping each other make games
– Teach techniques
– Analyze current games and trends
– Discuss critical topics like morality in games,
addiction, and the creator’s responsibility
• Play games
• President for 2 years, member for 4 years
Game Developer’s Club:
Officer Structure
• President
• Vice-President
• Publicity Officer, Webmaster, Special
Events
• General Officers (x6)
• Officer Meetings
Game Developer’s Club:
Schedule
• Every Tuesday 7-9pm
– With after-events from 9-12am
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Game Jams
Contests
White-Board Games
Board Games Workshop
Workshop Tutorials
– Flash, OpenGL, DirectX, Java, Python
• Live-Action Games
Game Developer’s Club:
Tuesday Night Presentations
• Presentations
– 20-45 minutes each
– 3 per meeting
– BioKid Game Engine, Cinematography in
Games, Geometry Shaders, Writer’s Group,
Modding, Game Reports, XNA
Game Developer’s Club:
Tuesday Night Presentations
• Guest Speakers
– 45-60 minutes each
– Wild Divine, Globaloria, Café Play, Sun Rep,
Microsoft Rep, SketchUp, Idol Minds,
Colorado Game Dev
– L3D talks: Anja Kinstch & Andy Gorman
Game Developer’s Club
Game Jams
• Weekend Long Event
• Gather at someone’s house
• Design a Game Based on a Theme
– Dreams
– Film Noir
– Biofeedback
Game Developer’s Club
Contests
• Make a Game, Win a Prize
– Best Frogger Game
– Best Pac-Man Game
– Game Dev Website Design Contest
• Best White-Board Game
• Prizes
– $25 Gift Certificate, Google Chair, Computer Book
White-Board Games
Game Developer’s Club
Board Game Workshops
• Special Tuesday Night Meeting
• Break up into groups of 3 or 4
• Each group gets a Go board (a basic grid)
& ~50 black and white stones
• Time structure:
– 20 minutes to create a game
– 30 minutes to share games with everyone
– 30 minutes to build off of your game or create
a new one
– 30 minutes to share games
Game Developer’s Club
Workshop Tutorials
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1-2 Student Teachers
Topic
Signup sheet
2 hours long
Special Time/Place
• Flash, OpenGL, DirectX, Java, PyGames
(Python)
Teaching Flash
Live-Action Games
Live-Action Games
Game Developer’s Club
Turnouts
Event
# People
Tuesday Night Meetings
15-20
Game Jams
10
Contests
4
Whiteboard Game Contest
9
Board Game Workshop
15-20
Workshop Tutorials
5
Live-Action Games
15-30
Game Developer’s Club:
Wiki
• My G-Life (www.myglife.org)
– Idit Harel Caperton, PhD
• Online Community for Members
– Members can edit any page
• Content
– Calendar of Events, Discussions, Our Games,
Photos
www.myglife.org ->USA -> Boulder GameDev
Game Developer’s Club:
Web Server
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Members’ personal sites
100+ GB of space
Any member can get an account
PHP, mySQL enabled
• Can hook up to their own domain name:
www.supercami.com
www.soylentsoft.net
Werewolf
After a Tuesday Meeting
Cami Goes to the
Game Developer’s Conference
Game Developer’s Conference
2007
GDC 2007
Fan Girl
GDC 2007
GDC 2007
Overview
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•
Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Overview
•
•
•
•
Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Computer Science
• What is Computer Science?
– Data Structures
– Algorithms
– Methodologies
– Computer Languages
Computer Science
• What is Computer Science?
– Data Structures
– Algorithms
– Methodologies
– Computer Languages
The Computer Scientist’s
Audience Knows
• Social Networks Online
– Facebook, MySpace, Match.com
• Software Tools
– Office, i-Tunes, Dreamweaver, Mozilla
• Hardware Support
– Spaceship, satellites, cell phones, i-pods
• Hackers
– Websites, bank accounts, credit cards, companies
The Computer Scientist’s
Audience Knows
• Video Games
– One of the most popular forms of
entertainment
– Programmers are the core developer of any
video game.
Programmers: The New Rock Stars
The Role of Programmers in
Game Development
“Programmers are your most important
audience, this is how your game gets
made, this is how your vision turns into
something real.”
– Damion Schubert, BioWare
Talking about communicating your game
designs to a large team
Video Games for CS Students
• Very Receptive Audience
– People love to play your games
– The first time someone’s asked me how I made a
software program
• Have Fun
– Mask complicated topics behind zombies, pirates,
ray-guns, cyber-pets
• Artistic Skills
– Let CS students share their other talents – artist, 3D
modeler, photographer, musician, writer, game player
Video Games for CS Students
• Games are Very Complicated Systems
– Graphics Programming 3D & 2D
– Math
– Physics
– AI
– Optimized for Real-Time Calculations
– Newest Hardware to the Limit
– Testing
• Unit Tests just aren’t enough
Ichor
Luke Palmer
Namaste Reid
www.soylentsoft.net
Overview
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Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Overview
•
•
•
•
Game Developers Club
CS Students – Why Make Games?
Serious Games
BioKid – My CS Senior Project
Serious Games
• What Serious Games are Usually Like
– Sugar coat the bitter act of learning
Fun
Learning
Serious Games
• What Serious Games can be
– Learning can be fun
– Find the fun and expand on it
Fun Learning
Serious Games
• What Serious Games can be
– Learning can be fun
– Find the fun and expand on it
Fun Learning
Life Simulations
• Cash Flow
– Educational board game
– Teaches accounting, finance, and
investing
– Created by Robert Kiyosaki,
author of book "Rich Dad Poor Dad"
– $195.00
– The Fun: Making lots and lots of $
Guitar Hero
• Making Beginner Guitar Learning FUN
Guitar Hero
• You are a Rock Star
Guitar Hero
• The Fun:
– Playing the music you love
– Sounding good
– Improving
– Feeling like a star
Flash Math
Biofeedback
• Heart-Rate & Skin Conductivity
• Awareness of body-mind connection
• Communicate your feelings to the
computer
– Anxiety, excitement
– Steady
– Calm, relaxed
Cami Dodson
Robert Scoville
Daniel Off
Ghassan Zaynoun
Conclusion: Video Games Are Cool
• I want to help make Game Dev classes in
CS and in Atlas
• We want a Game Development Track for
CS majors
• Play video games with your kids
– They’ll love you for it