Tag Archives: game design

Imagine a room full of families gathered together around laptops. They’re making animations and games using computer programming. Many of the children or their parents are pointing at or touching the screens as they discuss storylines and game mechanics. As is often the case with technology, the children appear to be taking the lead, guiding their parents. The young experts sometimes maneuver their parent’s hand on the mouse, showing them where to click or what to drag-and-drop on the screen.…

Last summer, I had the pleasure of interning with the team behind the National STEM Video Game Challenge. While working with the Cooney Center, I helped create and publish online content to spread the word about the STEM Challenge, and I also had the opportunity to work with students in game design workshops. The technology available to kids today extends far beyond what was available ten years ago when I was in middle school. It was incredible to watch these middle and high…

“I’ve always been interested in crafting stories,” says Caleb Koo, a 15-year-old from Galena, Ohio. “And telling stories through a video game is very easy.” Caleb designed Conquering the Underworld, which won the Middle School Gamestar Mechanic category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In this “choose your own adventure”-style game, players navigate a complex underworld collecting tools, defeating enemies, and exploring new levels. “The idea of meeting a variety of characters under different circumstances appealed to me,…

Aspiring programmer Elisha Azaria, 13, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania learned about the National STEM Video Game Challenge from his father — whose work with artificial intelligence helped to inspire Elisha’s winning game design. Created as a complex 3D game, Alien AI Abduction won the Middle School Unity category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In Alien AI Abduction, players run, jump, and blast evil robots as they navigate four levels of increasing difficulty. “I started with a basic Unity3D game,…

Kimberly Do, 16, has a deep fascination with outer space. An avid member of her school’s NASA Student Astronaut Challenge team, the Plant City, Florida native used cosmological interest to inspire her game design, Escape Velocity, winner of the High School Game Design Document category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. Kimberly learned about the STEM Challenge when she participated in a workshop at the Glazer Children’s Museum, and was excited to combine her love of art and…

When Shrey Pandya, 13, of Exton, Pennsylvania and Lucas Armand, 14, of Malvern, Pennsylvania set out to create their own fast-paced first person shooter game, they were determined to come up with a concept that was educational, nonviolent, and engaging for young players. The result, Outbreak: Cellular Warfare, is an exciting adventure in which you take on the role of an immunity cell, combating pathogens within your host in order to keep them healthy. “The immune system provided a very…

Zane Godil, age 12, learned about the National STEM Video Game Challenge from friends in his community of Beaverton, Oregon who had entered in previous years. “It was interesting and exciting to see what they’d come up with and hear about their experiences,” Zane says. With a little encouragement from his mom, Zane was empowered to create Deep Space Mayhem, winner of the Middle School GameMaker category in the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In Deep Space Mayhem, players…

For 10-year-old Puja Chopade of Madison, Alabama, major world problems like global warming served as inspiration for her video game design. Puja’s original game, Save the World!, won the Middle School Game Design Document category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In Save the World!, players learn about ecological problems around the world, and suggest possible solutions in order to earn points. As points are collected, the player is able to grow a variety of animals through different…

Teammates Calvin Khiddee-Wu, 14, and Jagdeep Bhatia, 14, of Green Brook, New Jersey knew from the start that they wanted to design a video game with an apocalyptic setting, and ultimately decided to use their game to tell a story of survival in the wake of nuclear fallout. Their original video game design, Reconstruct, won the Middle School Team Open Platform category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge after they were encourage to enter the competition by their…

When 17-year-old Brent VanZant looked up at the night sky while on vacation in New Mexico this summer, he didn’t just see hundreds of stars—he also saw the inspiration for an original video game design. “I thought it would be cool if you could control the height that an object orbited a planet and built my game off that idea,” says Brent. Thanks to that fateful gaze upward, the Los Alamitos, California native was inspired to create Orbit Arena, winner…