Screen it - How? Game Maker

Al Upton

WORKSHOP 9

ASISTM Computer Games in Education

Schools Cluster

Al Upton and the miniLegends www.alupton.wordpress.com

contact Al Upton al.upton@glenelgsr7.sa.edu.au

GUI

A Possible Workshop Approach

• Have a play • A quick glance at where we’re heading• Why games? • Shared stories and pedagogies• Create a game• Group discussion and questions for example …• Challenges and observations• Have a play – help yourselves to the resources

Have a play

• http://alupton.wordpress.com/learning/game-maker/my Game Maker resources

• Go to http://tinyurl.com/7lxbx and download Splatter! a 3D maze

• Have a play- arrow keys to move, space bar to shoot, F1 to learn more …click 1, 2, 3 or 4 to go to the new level

A quick glance at where we’re heading

• What are the implications if …

• …‘Virtual’ and ‘Real’ worlds were to merge?

They already have

Active citizens learning in what world?

• Learning for what world?• forget Online Learning, e-Learning, m-Learning -

dare I say we need to look toward …• In-world Learning (and the skills that support it)• Habbo online

NetGuide Web Awards 2005 – Site of the Year• Second Life online• SLurl > Heart murmurs, functioning ecosystems

Penn State, Dublin Uni, SL has it’s own campus

Welcome to Habbo

You can meet, chat, collaborate …

… play games …

… build the environment, trade and sell items …

… and buy stuff with real money to create your own in-world identity.

Welcome to Second Life

You can meet, chat, collaborate …

… play games …

… build the environment, trade and sell items …

… and buy stuff with real money to create your own in-world identity.

Why games?

• Education in the 21st century requires 21st

century tools that respond to the needs of 21st

century learners.• . . . facilitate learning by entering the 'kids

culture' of computer games and therefore students' choice of engagement and motivation.

• Then reap the benefits IE it’s much more than that• Game developers understand learners better

than educators• The corporate world knows - education is catching up

Shared stories and pedagogies

• In 2002 Bill Kerr and I independently ‘discovered’ the free Game Maker software.

• With a basic drag and drop user interface, it also has a comprehensive programming language.

• Bill’s extensive courses and resources can be found at http://www.users.on.net/~billkerr/

• His students now also use blogsTeaching Programming Skills Using Game Maker and Blogging

Shared stories and pedagogies

• “Mr Upton, do you know how to make computer games?” “No but I’ll tell you how tomorrow.”

• Student collaboration of “What makes a good game” lead me to originate the idea of Game Maker learning templates

• A game learning template is an ‘empty’ game. It has all the bits and pieces plus empty levels. Users construct their own game, gaining skills and concepts as they go.

• Students often then modify other games or create games from scratch with greater confidence and less need of guidance

Create a game

Create a game

• Go to our resources on our bloghttp://alupton.wordpress.com/learning/game-maker/

• Download the miniMazePlus template notes available

• Double click the template (it will open in Game Maker v5.3 if installed), click the green arrow and explore(arrow keys, space bar, F1)

• Esc to have a look at the software …click ‘Rooms’, ‘MyRooms’, double click room_1maximise … left click in the grey area, add some objects – right click to delete them

• Click the green arrow to test your changes

Group discussion and questions

• Question starter movie ‘Leeroy Jenkins’ …can be found on our blog (machinima)http://alupton.wordpress.com/2006/05/30/leeroy-jenkins/

• challenges and observations• What we learn from games (simplified)• strategies for use in the classroom• Blogs in Learning?

Challenges and observations

• the challenge to engage and motivate our students (existing established approaches often seem dry)

• the challenge of finding the right software (why did Bill Kerr and I choose Game Maker?)

• the challenge of maintaining an innovative approach which some other teachers may find threatening or interfering in some way (there is both strong support and strong opposition)

• the gender challenge (boys are more into games)

Challenges and observations

• the challenge of justifying new approaches in terms of established curriculum frameworks

• the challenge of getting students to communicate about what they are doing(blogs, wikis, other design tools)

• the challenge of teaching programming skills (‘just in time’ help seems best solution here, some students don't like debugging)

What we learn from games (simplified)

• How (to do things)• What (the rules)• Why (strategy, cooperation)• Where (environment)• When/Whether (Ethics, decision making)

• Research has shown game players make better employees in numerous fields.

strategies for use in the classroom

• Ask the kids about their games• Bring games into the classroom. Share and discuss

them. Try Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) games• Discuss what makes a good game …• Easy, harder, good challenge > ‘level up’

rewards, obstacles, inventory, points, health, lives, time, cheats,

• Play educational games• Project games on the big screen – play as a class• Make your current good practice more ‘game like’.

Blogs in Learning?

We need to provide “powerful engaging tools that will lead to the understanding and skills that will enable learners to go beyond their

teachers ability and knowledge and to succeed in the 21st century.”

Marc Prensky 2004

Our classroom set up – 6 groups of 5 learners with a networked computer each

Our Blog

• http://alupton.wordpress.com/My focus is catering to busy teachers with time commitments, crowded curricula and often elusive lives of their own.

• One underused computer in the corner of a classroom can have a blog on it. Kids can enter what learning happens each day.

• A topic/lesson can be posted – kids can add comments. resources

Our Game Maker pages

• http://alupton.wordpress.com/learning/game-maker/Our latest game is Splatter!

• Have a play -help yourselves to the resources