"Don't imagine that you lack the expertise or skill to host these programs. At the very least, install games on workstations where young adults and teens can access them."

~Brian Myers,
Wilmette Public Library
Wilmette IL

Game Maker Academy

Wilmette Public Library, Wilmette, IL

Wilmette Public Library serves a population of 26,566. Brian Myers of the Wilmette Public Library developed Game Maker Academy, a program that teaches young people how to create their own computer games.

The goals of the program are to nurture creativity and 21st century literacy skills in a motivating and multidisciplinary framework, and to establish our library as an engaging informal learning space within
the community, especially among young adults and teens.

Libraries interested in replication any portion of the Game Studio program may be interested in World Scratch Day on May 16, 2009.

Running the Program

Game Maker Academy offers a multidisciplinary educational framework combining computer programming, storytelling, graphic and audio editing, animation and analytical thinking.

The idea for Game Maker Academy and the Game Design Club emerged out of the success of our competitive gaming and open play events. We know that computer gaming has served as an entry into computer programming and digital design for young people of both genders since the earliest days of the PC. David Ahl's Creative Computing magazine (1974-1985) and book BASIC Computer Games (1978) contributed substantially to the expansion the home PC market while teaching youth how to create simple games in BASIC. Myers was inspired by the work of Seymour Papert with Logo, by Alan Kay's work with Squeak, and by the creativity and innovation generated within hobbyist groups as the People's Computer Company and Homebrew Computer Club.

After holding a few Game Maker and Scratch workshops, "graduates" were invited to demonstrate their projects before the Library Board, which then provided its enthusiastic support.

Using a variety of free and open-source computer applications, students learn to make their own platform, scrolling, tile, RPG and sports games, while developing media literacies and foundational programming skills. Club meetings are entirely informal and member-driven. The library provides pizza and beverages, plus one or two laptops. Activities range from formal presentations by club members to planning game design contests or gaming events. Occasionally a special guest from the professional game design industry attends as a speaker.

In addition to monthly club meetings, the library offers lab sessions on specific software, like Scratch, and workshops on topic like using Java, Anvil Studio, Audacity, ArtRage, InkScape, and Gimp. Periodically, themed game design contests are held, with Borders gift certificates awarded as prizes. A gallery of student work and links to resources, like tutorials, are posted online.

Many graduates of the program remain connected to the library by getting involved with the Game Design Club and mentoring others, and by getting involved in other library programs, such as the Teen Advisory Board.

Literacy Connections

These design activities both encompass and look well beyond the forms of literacy that are defined by existing school and library standards.

Game Maker Academy participants are working within a multimodal and multidisciplinary framework, combining computational fluency, mathematics, logic, storytelling, sound and graphic design (with their implicit elements of symbology and user-orientation), systems concepts and information management, among other disciplines. They are working collaboratively and often serve as mentors to one another.

The process of designing and producing a digital application provides them with experience that will make higher level math and physics and engineering concepts seem less alien when they are encountered in high school and college. This is what constructionist theorists mean by "performance precedes competence."

Impact

Since its inception, over 100 teens have participated in Game Maker Academy and the series is now being offered at area libraries and as an outreach program at Chicago’s Intel Computer Clubhouse. Success is measured by sustained interest and participation on the part of our teens and their parents, together with broader participation on the part of the teens in other library-sponsored teen programs and services.

At present , student achievement is done on a purely informal basis, and progress varies significantly depending upon individual motivation. Some graduates go on to learn C++ or Java, some experiment with 3D games, some are content to work on increasingly sophisticated Game Maker and Scratch projects.

This program was awarded an ALA Presidential Citation for Gaming by Loriene Roy at ALA Annual 2008. Brian was a presenter at MIT's Scratch conference in autumn 2008. Several libraries in the North Suburban (IL) Library System are now offering one or both programs.

Budget

All software applications used are either open source or freeware. We do spend a nominal amount on snacks and soda which are offered during workshops. Professional game programmers or designers invited to Game Design Club as speakers are given a $100 honorarium.

Resources

For more information, please contact Brian Myers at bmyers@wilmettelibrary.info.

Game Maker Academy website

World Scratch Day. day.scratch.mit.edu. February 20, 2009.
Website of resources for using the free game design program, Scratch, on May 16, 2009.

Myers, Brian and Betty Giorgi. Offering Teen-oriented Game Design Programs for Fun, Literacy and Learning. MIT Scratch Conference, August 2008.

Recommended Game Design Applications
Free tutorials are also available online wherever these applications are hosted.

Games for Change Toolkit. GC4, 2008. www.gamesforchange.org/toolkit. January 28, 2009.
Contains resources for making a serious game for real world change.

Books:

• Ford, Jerry Lee. Scratch Programming for Teens. Course Technology PTR, 2008.
• Overmars, Mark. The Game Maker's Apprentice. Apress, 2006.
• Swamy, Nanu and Naveena Swamy. Basic Game Design & Creation for Fun & Learning. Charles River Media, 2006.