Games Design Tools
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Games Design Software In this course we are not going to take you through a stepbystep guide of how to make games. there are lots and lots of websites and online tutorials that already tell you how to do that. We will of course signpost you to some of the best resources on the web to help get you started. Before you go about making a game it is important to remember that different games design tools do different things and some of them may only be accessible for certain age groups. That said if we are serious about introducing games design into schools it is important that we do it in a progressive way and start early. Some educators are still surprised that I have had children as young as five designing and building their own video games. 2 Simple DIY (paid) 2 simple 2 DIY is a super simple programming software for children to enable them to design their own games. It is very child friendly through the use of simple text, language and bright pictures. 2 DIY begins with a selection of premade templates of games which can be chosen and then changed to suit your idea. Each game has a video tutorial which is very useful and shows exactly how the games can be made. Examples of games that can be made include mazes and classic arcade type games. Games can be made with multiple levels and users can add score systems and time penalties. You can even view and adapt the raw game code if you want modify the game content 2 Simple DIY is also available as an iPad App. Getting started with 2 Simple DIY To get started you will need to request a copy of the software from 2 Simple or download the iPad App. The website are full of tutorials to take you through things stepbystep but the reality is you will be able to figure out moth things yourself very quickly.
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Transcript of Games Design Tools
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GamesDesignSoftwareInthiscoursewearenotgoingtotakeyouthroughastepbystepguideofhowtomakegames.therearelotsandlotsofwebsitesandonlinetutorialsthatalreadytellyouhowtodothat.Wewillofcoursesignpostyoutosomeofthebestresourcesonthewebtohelpgetyoustarted.Beforeyougoaboutmakingagameitisimportanttorememberthatdifferentgamesdesigntoolsdodifferentthingsandsomeofthemmayonlybeaccessibleforcertainagegroups.Thatsaidifweareseriousaboutintroducinggamesdesignintoschoolsitisimportantthatwedoitinaprogressivewayandstartearly.SomeeducatorsarestillsurprisedthatIhavehadchildrenasyoungasfivedesigningandbuildingtheirownvideogames.2SimpleDIY(paid)2simple2DIYisasupersimpleprogrammingsoftwareforchildrentoenablethemtodesign
theirowngames.Itisverychildfriendlythroughtheuseofsimpletext,languageandbright
pictures.
2DIYbeginswithaselectionofpremadetemplatesofgameswhichcanbechosenandthen
changedtosuityouridea.Eachgamehasavideotutorialwhichisveryusefulandshows
exactlyhowthegamescanbemade.Examplesofgamesthatcanbemadeincludemazes
andclassicarcadetypegames.Gamescanbemadewithmultiplelevelsanduserscanadd
scoresystemsandtimepenalties.Youcanevenviewandadapttherawgamecodeifyou
wantmodifythegamecontent
2SimpleDIYisalsoavailableasaniPadApp.
Gettingstartedwith2SimpleDIYTogetstartedyouwillneedtorequestacopyofthesoftwarefrom2SimpleordownloadtheiPadApp.Thewebsitearefulloftutorialstotakeyouthroughthingsstepbystepbuttherealityisyouwillbeabletofigureoutmoththingsyourselfveryquickly.
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Useful2SimpleLinks:
2SimpleDIYOverview/Tutorialwww.youtube.com/watch?v=lfFn2RkRttw 2SimpleDIY3DOverview/Tutorialwww.youtube.com/watch?v=FaQOVpgAzWE
Minecraft(paid)
Minecraftisagameaboutbreakingandplacingblocks.Atfirst,peoplebuiltstructurestoprotectagainstnocturnalmonsters,butasthegamegrewplayersworkedtogethertocreatewonderful,imaginativethings.
Itcanalsobeaboutadventuringwithfriendsorwatchingthesunriseoverablockyocean.Itspretty.BraveplayersbattleterriblethingsinTheNether,whichismorescarythanpretty.Youcanalsovisitalandofmushroomsifitsoundsmorelikeyourcupoftea!
InshortMinecraftisthelargestsandboxofalltimeandcanbejustaboutanythingthatyouwantittobe!GettingstartedwithMinecraftYoucanbuyMinecraftforPC/Machere,Minecraft:Xbox360EditionandMinecraft:XboxOneEditionontheXBLAMarketplace,andMinecraft:Playstation3Edition,Minecraft:Playstation4Edition,andMinecraft:PlaystationVitaEditiononthePlaystationNetwork.Minecraft:PocketEditionisavailableforiOSandAndroid.UsefulMincraftLinks:
MincraftEDUhttp://minecraftedu.com/ MinecraftinEducation(Wiki)http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_in_education IsMinecrafttheUltimateEducationalTool?(PBSIdeaChannelVideo)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI0BN5AWOe8 UsingMinecraftinEducation(EdutopiaVideo)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSimHPmZ0hA
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MITScratch(free)ScratchhasbeendevelopedbytheLifelongLearningGroupattheMITMediaLab(MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,USA).Itisaplatformthatpromotesmathematicalandcomputationalskillsaswellascreativity,reasoningandcollaborativeworking.Scratchcanbeusedtomakeanumberofmultimediaapplicationssuchasgames,animations,simulations,storiesandart.Everyobject(sprite)thatisusedinascratchprojectcanhaveoneormorescriptsattachedtoit.Thesescriptsaddbehaviourstospritesandallowthemtoactinanywaytheuserfeelssuitableinthecontexttotheirproject.Thescriptsaremadeupofbuildingblocksthataregroupedbycategory,suchascontrol,motionandsensing.Thereisverylittlekeyboardinputrequiredbytheuserasallthescriptblocksaredraggedtothescriptingareawiththemouseandclickedtogetherlikelego.Allspritesandbackgroundscanbecreatedbytheuserusingthebuiltinpainteditor.However,Scratchalsoallowsuserstobringincontentfromothersources.Forexample,imagesyouhavescanned,photographedortakenfromtheweb.Italsocomeswithalibraryofspritesandbackgroundstogetyoustartedquickly.Musicandsoundeffectsarejustasflexible.Eitherusethebuiltsounds,recordyourownfromwithinScratchorusesoundsyouhavecreatedwithanotherprogram.GettingstartedwithScratchScratchisnowawebbasedresourceandbeaccessathttp://scratch.mit.edutherearealsolotsofScratchtutorialsavailableonthesamesiteandyoucanalsoviewothergamesthatusershavecreated.Atthetimeofwritingover6milliongameshavebeencreatedandsharedviatheScratchwebsite.
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ScratchisreallypopularwithschoolsandtohelpcelebratethepowerofScratcheachyearthereisaWorldScratchDay.YoucanfindoutmoreinformationaboutWorldScratchDayherehttp://day.scratch.mit.edu.ItisalsoworthnotingthatScratch(version1.4)canstillbedownloadedforfreefromhttp://scratch.mit.edu/scratch_1.4thisisprettyusfulifyoudonthavegoodinternetconnectivityinyourschools.
MITScratchJunior(free)ScratchJr(http://www.scratchjr.org)isanintroductoryprogramminglanguagethatenablesyoungchildren(ages57)tocreatetheirowninteractivestoriesandgames.Childrensnaptogethergraphicalprogrammingblockstomakecharactersmove,jump,dance,andsing.Childrencanmodifycharactersinthepainteditor,addtheirownvoicesandsounds,eveninsertphotosofthemselvesthenusetheprogrammingblockstomaketheircharacterscometolife.
ScratchJrwasinspiredbythepopularScratchprogramminglanguage(http://scratch.mit.edu),usedbymillionsofyoungpeople(ages8andup)aroundtheworld.ScratchJrhasaredesignedinterfaceandprogramminglanguagetomakethemdevelopmentallyappropriateforyoungerchildren.Thenewfeaturesarecarefullydesignedtomatchyoungchildren'scognitive,personal,social,andemotionaldevelopment.
ScratchJriscurrentlyavailableasafreeiPadapp.AnAndroidversionwillbereleasedinDecember2014andawebbasedversionin2015.
GettingstartedwithScratchJrYoucanfindouteverythingthatyouneedtoknowaboutScratchJrfromtheofficialwebsite(http://www.scratchjr.org)thewebsitealsocontainsausefulsetofLearnTutorialsincludinganinterfaceguide,painteditorguideandblockdescriptions.YoucandownloadScrathJrfromtheAppleAppsStore.
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MicrosoftKodu(freebutPCandXboxonly)Koduisexciting,easytouseandfreegamesdesignandprogramingsoftware.Youcanuseittocreateelaborate3Dlandscapes,buildcomplicatedimmersivegameswhileremainingincontrolofthecharacters,lightingandcameraangles.KoduisavailableforthePCandfortheXbox.ThePCversionofthegameallowsyoutousethekeyboardtoprogrammethecharactersandlandscape.YoucanalsopluganXboxcontrollerintothePCversionofthegamewhichisverypopularwithyoungpeople.ThemostrecentversionofKodu(version1.2.38)addsanewstorytellingfeature(idealforsupportingliteracy)andalsoanewwebbasedsupportcommunity.Koduprogramminginvolvesselectingvisualtilesforacondition(WHEN)andanaction(DO).Itisverysimpleandintuitivetouse.Itisagreatwaytogetyoungpeopleinterestedanddevelopingapassionforprogrammingandmakingthings.GettingstartedwithKoduKodu(version1.2.38)canbedownloadedforfreefrom:www.kodugamelab.comtherearealsoanumberofKodututorialonthesamesite.KoduisalsonowavailableasanappforWindows8andWindows8.1ithasbeenoptimisedfortabletsandworksverywell.KoduintheClassroomisasetofresourcesthathavebeendevelopedforeducationtohelpyouintroduceKoduaseitheraoneoffexperienceorasasequenceoflessons.TheUKKoduintheclassroomseriesareavailabletodownloadfromtheMicrosoftPartnersinLearning(PiL)Network(www.pilnetwork.com).YouwillalsofindawholerangeofothergreatKoduResourcesoveratwww.interactiveclassroom.netandontheConsolariumYouTubeChannelwww.youtube.com/user/Consolarium
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ProjectSpark(freebutWindows8.1andXboxOneonly)ProjectSpark(www.projectspark.com)isinmanywaysanevolutionofKodubutalsohasthefeelofarealGamesEnginebehindit.ProjectSparkisadigitalcanvaswhichcanbeusedtomakegames,moviesandotherexperiences.Aplayercandownloadotherusergeneratedcontent,remixthatcontentorcreatecontentoftheirown.AplayercanusetheXboxcontroller,keyboardandmouse,touchdevices,KinectandSmartGlasstobuildexperiences.Kinectcanbeusedtoanimatemodelsandrecordaudio.Thecreatedenvironmentscancontainmountains,rivers,andtowns.Theplayercanalsocreateevents,likeintercharacterbattles.Createditemsandobjectsareabletobesharedwithotherplayers.Playerschoosewhethertostartfromablankmaporapredesignedlevel,butalwayshavethetoolstocustomizethetopography,addplantandanimallife,andprogrambehaviorsforspecificobjects,suchasarockthatbounceswhenaplayerisnearby.Thetopographyismodifiedbypushingandpullingtheearth,diggingthroughsurfacesafterchangingtheviewtoadjustawallorcreateholesinit.
GettingstartedwithProjectSparkEverythingthatyouneedtoknowaboutProjectSparkcanbefoundontheProjectSparkWebsite(www.projectspark.com).Thewebsitealsocontainsacomprehensivesetoftutorialstogetyoustarted(www.projectspark.com/#guides).
RPGGameMaker(paid)
With RPG Maker, you can create your own unique RPG (Rollplaying Game), without the need to be a programmer, artist, or musician. This game creating engine contains the followingfeatures:
Aneasytousemappingsystem,givingyouthetoolstobuildthelookofyourworld.
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AGUIdrivendatabase,whereyoucancreateyourheroes,villains,items,magic,andmore.
Apowerfuleventingsystem,allowingyoutodictatetheflowofyourgameusingasimplepointandclickinterface.
Agreatdefaultcollectionofgraphics,sounds,andmusic,givingyouallthematerialsyouneedtomakeyourgame.
RPG Maker includes a large collection of premade, ready to use resources for you to create your own game with. You can also import new resources from the RPGMakerWeb blog, onlinecommunities,orevenimportresourcesyoumadeyourself.
GettingstartedwithRPGYoucandownloadRPGGameMaker(and/orafreetrial)fromwww.rpgmakerweb.com.Therearealsoawiderangeoftutorialsonthewebsitetogetyoustartedhttp://www.rpgmakerweb.com/support/products/tutorialsAswellastechnicaltutorialsthetutorialsalosincludeinformationonhowtocreatethingslikecharactersandstoryline.
UnrealDevelopmentKitUDK(freepremiumoptionsalsoavailable)TheUnrealDevelopmentKit(UDK)isthefreeeditionofUnrealEngine3thatprovidesaccesstotheawardwinning3Dgameengineandprofessionaltoolsetusedinblockbustervideogamedevelopment,architecturalvisualization,mobilegamedevelopment,3Drendering,digitalfilmsandmore.Thisishighendverypowerfulstuffandthereforerequiresagoodgraphicscardinyourcomputer.ThereiscommercialmodelbehindtheUDKinthatitisfreeaslongasyoudontsellthegamesyoucreate.IfyousellthegamesthenapercentageoftheprofitshastobepaidbacktoUnreal.Dontcountthisoutasanenterprisingprojectforyourschoolorcollegethough!
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GettingstartedwiththeUDKEverythingthatyouneedtogetstarted(documentation,videotutorials,etc.)isontheUDKWebsite.
Finally,MicrosoftPowerpoint(paid)TherearelotsofwaysthatyoucancreateagameinMicrosoftPowerPoint.TofindouthowtocreatethemysterygamethatwedescribeinthevideohavealookatthistutorialonWikiHowhttp://www.wikihow.com/CreateaComputerGameUsingPowerPoint
