Tag Archives: game design

Now that the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge has wrapped up, we are busy analyzing the results of this year’s competition and the activities that surrounded it. One of the areas we’ve been digging into are the game design workshops that took place around the country with the support of organizations like the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and the HIVE Digital Media Learning Fund in the New York Community Trust.  In this post, we’ll look at some…

Each week, we are introducing you to a winner of the STEM Challenge. Last week, we profiled Brianna Igbnosun, the Scratch High School Winner, and this week we are thrilled to introduce you to Brad Schmitz, the Scratch Middle School winner. An 8th grader from Glandorf, Ohio, Brad Schmitz is a Boy Scout who sees himself as “more outgoing than most.” His curious nature prompts him to try things that most would never consider and to always push himself. And…

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge. This year, we received close to 4,000 entries — and not only did more students enter the competition than in previous years, but their games were more complex, challenging and creative than ever before. We were blown away by the energy that students put into their games, the number of platforms they used to develop them (over 15!)…

On Wednesday, a panel of education professionals, teachers, and tech-savvy students took the stage for the final day of the 10th annual Games for Change Festival held at New World Stages in New York City. Moderated by Forbes blogger, Jordan Shapiro, the panel participants discussed their experience with the National STEM Video Game Challenge, a national program founded by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media that encourages youth in grades 5-12 to create playable video games that utilize…

Video game artist Lisette Titre took some time to answer questions from the STEM Challenge community recently. Check out her responses to aspiring game designers in this video.

Rhys, 10, is an aspiring game designer in Texas who uses Gamestar Mechanic to create worlds to play in. He talks about the importance of stories and creating challenges to engage players. Thanks to Edutopia and PBS for sharing this video from the upcoming documentary Is School Enough? More videos in the Web series (on Edutopia) and an hour-long broadcast special (on PBS) to come in Fall 2013.  

Scratch makes it easy to create games using programming blocks that snap together, in the spirit of LEGO bricks. You can customize your Scratch projects by drawing or importing your own images and sounds. Since Scratch was released in 2007, more than a million kids (age 8 and up) have used it to create games, animations, simulations, and many other kinds of programs. Here are a few examples of cool games that young people have created with Scratch — including…

Today we are living in a world where our lives are being shaped in fundamental ways by the products of science and their application in technology. For millions of youth, videogames are a big part of some of their earliest and up-close encounters with advanced technologies that incorporate computer simulations, visualization, communication, and digital art among other things. Playing videogames is gaining increased recognition as a valuable educational activity both within formal (in-school), and informal (out-of-school) settings. Research studies have…

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is one of the gaming industry’s largest conferences. It is known worldwide as the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry. This year’s event features an Education Summit which will explore new approaches to teaching game design and creating game design curriculum.

Avast! Today marks an exciting day for our hornswoggling crew here at Launchpad Toys: Toontastic Jr. Pirates is LIVE in the App Store for iPhone and iPad! With 3 million cartoons created in over 150 countries, our first app – Toontastic – has been a great success for kids ages 6-12. Now, with the launch of Toontastic Jr. and our new StoryShare platform for online, creative Co-Play, little brothers and sisters as young as 3 years old can create their…