December 1st, 2010

A Snow Day Resource from the Consolarium

Brian Clark

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, curriculum for excellence, LTS, Scratch, snow, snowday, tutorials
 : Categories Consolarium, Glow, game based learning, games design

It’s cold out there. Really cold. And snowy.  

With many of Scotland’s schools remaining closed due to bad weather, a large number of teachers, schools and authorities are trying to deliver some engaging snow related learning experiences for learners via Glow.

We have just created a short Snow Globe animation task using Scratch that can be accessed by all Glow users here.  It’s also more than suitable for using with your classes in school too!

Learners with access to Glow will be able to follow the video tutorials to create the animation shown below.  Click the green flag to see the animation!

UPDATE! Tutorial Videos Now On YouTube

The video playlist is embedded below, or you can access on YouTube directly here

November 29th, 2010

Scratch – itching for more?

Brian Clark

Comments: 5 Comments » Tags: Tags: build your own blocks, byob, cfe, computing, Consolarium, curriculum for excellence, game design, games design, GBL, LTS, network games, Scratch
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Glow, games design

Build Your Own Blocks

MIT’s Scratch program has become a firm favourite in Primary and Secondary schools all over Scotland.  It is a great tool to create a variety of interactive media resources such as games, art, simulations and stories.  You are only limited by your imagination!

However, as more and more pupils are experiencing Scratch in their Primary classes or through their own curiosity at home, many secondary subjects that currently use Scratch (usually Computing departments) may be wondering how to build on these skills gained pre-secondary school.

One opportunity for extending the learning opportunities with Scratch lies with the BYOB mod of Scratch.  BYOB has all the features of the regular Scratch program, but has a couple of very exciting extras.  Including:

1. the ability to build custom blocks 
2. use recursion
3. create first class lists and procedures
4. ability to share sprites over a LAN
5. ability to pass variables over a LAN

For the purpose of this post, I would like to demonstrate points 4 and 5 – the ability to pass information between 2 or more computers.  Lets look at an example:

The BYOB software, used in this way, provides us with a tool for learners that immediately promotes, and indeed requires, cooperative working and discussion.  Charlie and myself have been demoing this implementation with Computing teachers at CPD events over Scotland in the last month or so.  We have been delighted to see the discussion and cooperative working that needs to take place in order for learners to create what is,essentially, a multiplayer networked game.

Using the technique above of hosting a mesh and reading in variable data using the sensing option, user can quite quickly create a 2 player tennis style game as illustrated below.

These videos are a little rough around the edges, but I intend to re-do them as a set of tutorial videos to be hosted within our game design Glow group. This tutorial set will take users through the steps to make the tennis game.

Please get in touch if you have already been using BYOB with your classes and share your experience with us.

November 21st, 2010

New version of Kodu Game Lab

charlielove

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: Consolarium, game design, games design, Kodu, microsoft
 : Categories Consolarium, games design

Those clever people at Microsoft’s Fuse Labs have released a fantastic new build of the Kodu Game Lab software which we have been using throughout Scotland.  There are many new features and fixes in the software but the main ones to draw your attention to are:

• New tutorial systems which makes it even easier to get started using Kodu
• New shortcuts to allow easier use of the keyboard in games
• New “fabric” terrain (so no more blocky terrain – unless you want it)
• Must faster rendering and performance overall

The new tutorial system makes it much easier than ever before to follow a tutorial as the instructions now appear in an overlay pane at the top of the screen.  These instructions very clearly direct the learner as he/she begins to use Kodu for the first time. The new tutorials take a learner right from adding his/her first character and programming it through to building worlds, scoring and adding filters to Kodu programs.

Kodu's new tutorial system

The new terrain system allows you to create blocky and smooth terrain in the same world. So a game which looked like this…

Previous "Blocky" terrain in Kodu

Now can look like this…

New smooth terrain in Kodu

Visually, it makes quite a difference and it’s possible to mix the terrain types so you can have blocky “cubic” look and the smooth “fabric” look in the same world! It’s also easier to add keyboard controls as support for using the arrow keys and the WASD key combination are built into the new version.  This means that you can add control using these keys using one command instead of four.  Exporting your programs is easier now (in windowed mode) as you get a standard windows file dialogue and can save your exported game files where you want on your computer. So no more hunting around to see where they are! And if you want to print your program you can just press Ctrl+P in the edit mode and it will print to your default printer.  You can now also create games which shoot at the Kodu cursor (so missle command fans will be happy).  The launch command can now launch objects towards characters as well!

There are lots of great enhancements to the software and we recommend that you upgrade to it if you can.  You can download Kodu Game Lab from here and read the full list of changes on the Kodu Team Blog. Remember, you can follow the Kodu Team on twitter using the tag @koduteam for great updates and information.

October 20th, 2010

Unity 3 Game Development

charlielove

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Android, cfe, cross-curricular, game design, games design, Glow, iOS, Unity
 : Categories Consolarium, Glow, Nintendo, cross-curricular, games design

Unity 3 is a cross platform development environment (PC or Mac) which provides users with a set of tools to create games for PC, Mac, Wii, iOS devices (such as iPodTouch, iPhone and iPad) and Google’s Android Mobile operating system.  It’s a jack of all trades system and the core software is free for all to download and use.  This video shows just a few of the games that have already been created with Unity.

We’ve been spending some time at the Consolarium looking at Unity 3 and we’ve been very impressed with what is possible with the software.  The level of support available online from the Unity site and from the developer community (including the great game tutorial videos at 3DBuzz) is excellent and this wealth of quality resources can really support learners as they take their first steps with this software.

Our plans to support game design in the senior phase require quality tools which provide learners with opportunities to produce games similar to the ones they play.  Also, game design in the senior phase must build on the CfE experiences and outcomes and our work on game design at level 2/3 with Scratch and Kodu. Given the recent developments in game design qualifications, it is important that we look for and develop resources which support learners undertaking these new courses.  Unity provides a versatile platform which can help us achieve all of these things.

With practicalities in mind, Unity will run on a variety of computer systems including those which are getting a bit old.  It requires Windows XP Service Pack 2 OR Mac OS “Leopard” 10.5 as a minimum spec and a graphics card with a minimum of 64MBs (which should cover any graphics card made in the last  6/7 years).  Other demands on your computer system just depend on how complex your game project becomes.

One of the really great features that we hope to make use of is Unity 3′s ability to create browser based games which play from the web.  Have a look at blurst.com to see some of the great web based games created with Unity.  Jetpack Brontosaurus is my personal favourite.

Moving forward our plan is to make the best of these resources available in the Consolarium Game Design Glow Group and to develop further resources and support for schools which adopt Unity as a development platform.  Already in our Glow group are resources for Scratch, Kodu, Blender and Microsoft XNA Game Development.  There are also a number of background resources which deal with the game development process and were filmed at the Denki Studio in Dundee.

October 19th, 2010

EA Create: New Game, New Opportunities?

Brian Clark

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, cross platform, ea, ea create, educational games, game based learning, game design, mac, pc, pic, ps3, Wii, xbox
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Multi-player games, cross-curricular, game based learning, games design, writing

At the Consolarium, we are always eager to look for new games to add to our Game Based Learning projects. In mid November 2010, Electronic Arts will release EA Create.

Create Game Info

In Create, use your creativity and imagination to unlock a world of play!

Create tracks your creativity and rewards you for it. The more you create, the more you unlock rewards and exciting challenges to play, opening a world of fun as you go.

Let your imagination run wild, as you create cool environments with easy-to-use tools, including animating objects, textures, and designs that bring your scene to life!

It’s a limitless experience of creative expression paired with exciting and even wacky challenges that have you thinking on your feet to come up with creative solutions.

EA Create seems to have more than a couple of similarities to Little Big Planet for the PS3, but with one big difference – Create will be available for Wii, Xbox, PS3, Mac and PC. With an internet connection, users on any platform will be able to upload their creations and download any other creation and remix it – regardless of what platform they are using, with the exception of the Wii.

This particular game seems to offer a number of opportunities for Game Based Learning projects and indeed may be a great tool to close the gap between game players, game based learners and game creators.  A few reasons we are hopeful for this particular game include:

1. The terminolgy used in the game is the same terminolgy used in a number of game design tools – eg brushes, textures etc.
2. The cross platform sharing option.
3. A tool to create environments to stimulate writing.
4. Use  to inspire creativity and invention, particularly within science and design and technology.  Like Little Big Planet, you can pretty much make anything you want and it wil act like real life objects do. Let me expand on this a little….

I was thinking that schools could use this game to  engage with probelm solving and creativity. Then, set groups of pupils a challange to build a crazy contrapation like a Rube Goldberg machine, just like they can do in create – solve a simple problem by creating a complex solution.  Have a look at OK Go’s video for their song ‘This To Shall Pass’ to see such a machine in operation.

A project like this could be a great way to build teamwork, cooperation, environment/recycling, not to mention inter disciplinary links. Look out for an update in the new year once we’ve had a chance to get creating ourselves!

May 12th, 2010

Kodu Training Responses and Next Steps

Brian Clark

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, cpd, game design, Kodu, scripting
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Glow, cross-curricular, game based learning, games design

Last week, Charlie posted a summary of our 2 day Kodu training session with the Girvan Academy cluster schools.  We had 2 teachers from the secondary school, 12 from primary schoosl and 1 from the local authority.  After receiving some feedback on the event from the staff involved, I thought I’d share what we learned from what we hope will be the first of many Kodu training events.

During the 2 Days …

We decided to start the training getting the teachers to use the terrain building tools in order to familiarise themselves with the Kodu interface and the controller.  Trying to stay topical, we decided to model a volcano.  However, as Charlie previously mentioned, one of the key difficulties we found, was that a number of staff had never held an Xbox controller or played a 3d computer game.

As it turned out, many of the teachers involved did find the 3D world difficult to navigate/play in.  Just too much movement on the screen for them to deal with.  While they all agreed that this wouldn’t be an issue for pupils as they are’ 3D native’, we needed to address this.  So, Charlie and I changed track slightly and decided to focus on static world games.

By setting the camera position to fixed, we took the teachers through building games based on the classics such as Frogger and Space Invaders.  This technique allowed the teachers to build worlds without that initial disorientation they experienced with the camera set to free mode.  This allowed the teachers to focus more on game functionality and scripting.

It seemed obvious to then move to the Fixed Offset camera mode where the camera angle tracks the main game character; this allowed the teachers to engage a little more on the terrain building aspect of Kodu.  During this task we set about making side scrolling games in the classic Mario / Sonic style.

It should be at this point we moved to the full Free mode option and get the teachers to create fuller 3D worlds and utilise the scripting techniques they gained during the Space Invader/Mario-esque games.

As for scripting, using creatables and making paths – all of which Charlie and I thought might be too much for inexperienced teachers,  turned out to be one of the most rewarding aspects of the course.  With the free motion 3D issue dealt with, the attendees got stuck into the mechanics of the games they were making.

That being said, there were of course a number of teachers who were familiar with the 3D free scrolling games of the Xbox generation. Their experience in this genre of game allowed them to carry out most of the tasks with little or no difficulty and illustrated the need for strategies to deal with such a diverse set of learners such as this.  One welcome suggestion was that we should have training days especially for primary school teachers and secondary school teachers (in particular secondary Computing teachers)

What Did We Learn?

So, what have we learned from our initial 2 training days when dealing with non experienced gamers?

1. Allow teachers to play in pre build Kodu world to get used, or indeed see what types of games Kodu can be used to make.
2. Create simple games using the Fixed camera position – little terrain building and simple scripting.
3. Move on to Fixed Offset mode and create side scrolling games, increasing the amount of terrain building
4. Turn on Free mode on the camera settings to create full 3D games.
5. When dealing with diverse groups, it is probably best to have separate training events.

Next Steps

Both Charlie and I will be out to visit and support the implementation on Kodu in this cluster and continue to feedback to you here and within GLOW, with a particular focus of Curriculum for Excellence.  Within GLOW we will encourage the teachers involved will contribute to discussions, lesson ideas and resources over the next few months for all of us to use.

On the whole, it was a very rewarding couple of days, and those that attended gave really useful feedback  in relation to their pupils learning experiences and curriculum for excellence, as well as how we can refine this training process.  I will leave you with a few of thoughts from some of the teachers that attended our course.

I would like to give Kudo a go as soon as possible, it would certainly answer the outcome of making a game, also I can see it cross curricular potential. I found the course worthwhile and it opened up my brain to a different type of learning. The kids will love it.

I’d really like to develop the use of Kodu and link it with literacy as a school project.

Kodu is a wonderful tool to use in class and pupils would be highly motivated to learn how to make games.  Training days were useful to show teachers what is available and how it can be used with pupils.

I think Kodu is a great tool and well worth doing with the P7s. Whether I could call myself capable to teach it after only two days is debatable. Possibly access to a helpdesk via e-mail or some such would be good as I fear a lot of problems may crop up of which I won’t know the answers.

I did learn a great deal from the two days as well as it being inspirational. I would also like to thank the presenters for their patience and hard work. They made it fun to learn. I will definitely use Kodu in Dailly Primary

May 4th, 2010

Kodu Training

charlielove

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, games design, Kodu, Learning, Microsoft Research, Training
 : Categories Consolarium, games design

Kodu Game Lab

February 26th, 2010

Digital Games Design Competition @ SLF10

Brian Clark

Comments: 5 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, cross-curricular, games design, SLF10
 : Categories Consolarium, Glow, SLF10, cross-curricular, games design

Fancy yourself as a Games Designer?

Do you think Sonic is super?

Do you marvel at Mario?

Are you crazy about Crash?

Love Lara?

Fancy yourself as a games designer?  Now is your chance to design, create and market your own computer game with great characters and compelling storylines.  Your game only has to meet two criteria for your chance to win some great prizes.

1. It should be an adventure/platform/puzzle game with a story behind it.
2. The player should be able to control a character and solve a puzzle or collect items to progress to the next level / complete the game.

If you are a pupil at a school in Scotland then you can enter your game in one of four categories:

1. Primary Individual
2. Primary Group
3. Secondary Individual
4. Secondary Group

Check out some examples and find out more by watching this video.

You can download the high quality mp4 here, or an iPod mp4 here.

When designing and creating your game, and think about

• characters and background that will be used in the game
• music and sound effects to be used in the game
• levels / progression through the game

Use any game creation tool to build your game.  For example 2DIY, Scratch, Kodu, Game Maker, SimsCarnival, Greenfoot, Flash, Net Radiant, Unreal Development Kit, Microsoft XNA or any other appropriate platform

Send us the complete game in an email, or a link or on CD/DVD.  Make sure you let us know what software you used.

Need some help to get started?

Consolarium Development Officers, Charlie Love and Brian Clark, are available to offer you some assistance.  They can be contacted via email (c.love@ltscotland.org.uk and b.clark@LTScotland.org.uk ).

The Final

Successful finalists will be invited to attend the Scottish Learning Festival on the 22^nd/23^rd September to present their game to a panel of Game Developers and Industry Specialists.  A number of great prizes will also be on offer including a tour of the studio at game developers, Denki.

The closing date for all entries is Friday 3^rd September 2010

August 23rd, 2009

LTS does “Dragons’ Den” at SLF’09: Promo poster

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories SLF09, games design

If you are thinking of getting your schools pupils involved in the LTS does Dragons’ Den event at SLF’09 this year then maybe this promotional poster will help promote interest in the exciting opportunity and challenge faced by pupils and encourage them to get their creative juices flowing.

We are very lucky this year to have three Dragons from the Scottish Games Industry to sit on the panel . These are:

Chris van Der Kuyl of  Brightsolid

David Thomson of Denki

Colin Macdonald of Realtime Worlds

Denki have kindly offered a visit to their games design studios in Dundee as a prize for the winning entry/presentation.

Full details of the competition can be accessed from this post from the summer term.

May 29th, 2009

LTS does Dragons’ Den at SLF ’09

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Consolarium, dragon, games design, SLF09
 : Categories SLF09, games design

Have you got a good idea for a computer game?

Do you have an idea for a computer game that might be the next worldwide smash hit or do you have an idea for a character that could capture the imagination of game players across the globe?

If so, then this year’s LTS does Dragons’ Den competition at The Scottish Learning Festival could be just the opportunity for you to showcase your imagination and ideas to a panel of professional experts from the Scottish computer games industry.

What we are inviting school pupils to do is to devise a concept for a computer game that they will be pitched to the Dragon’s. The time that you will have for your pitch is 10 minutes. The content of your presentation can take any form that you decide but we suggest five areas that you may like you to give consideration to. These are:

• What is the underpinning idea for the game and its game play?
  • Give a clear and concise description of your game
• What is the target audience and appeal of your game?
  • What age range is targeted
  • Who will buy the game and what will motivate them to do so?
• What will the game look like?
  • Design at least two characters and one set to help the Dragons’ visualise your ideas
• What makes your game original?
  • What does your game have that isn’t or hasn’t been on the market
• How would you market your game?
  • Front cover design should be included in your presentation
  • What devices will the game be made for?

* Please note: if you and your team have made a game or have built any associated aspects of your game then please do include this.

Who is the competition open to?
The competition is open to boys and girls from the ages of 3-18

What is the maximum team size?
The maximum numbers of team members is four

Who are the Dragons?
The full and final line-up of Dragons has yet to be confirmed.

What form will the event at SLF’09 take?
The pre-event judging will select four teams to present at SLF’09. At the event each team will be given 10 minutes to make their pitch with 5 minutes questions and feedback from the Dragons. The Dragons will be given a few minutes at the end to decide on which entry they felt proved to be the most innovative and appealing for a games design company.

What presentation facilities are available at SLF ’09
A PC with Powerpoint and a Mac with Keynote will be available to present. We will try, where possible, to accommodate all presentation requirements

Submitting an entry
Entries to the pre-judging aspect of this competition can be sent to consolarium@ltscotland.org.uk. A detailed submission is welcome but contestants must realise that any detailed submissions need to be summarised and delivered in the 10 minute pitch that they have to the Dragons. The closing date for submissions to the competition is Friday 11th September with the successful contestants being notified by Monday 14th September.

We ask that competition entries are submitted by a teacher who has been working with the pupils involved.

Travel arrangements
LTS will cover the cost of travel to and from SLF’09 for all the finalists.

Is there a prize?
Yes, more details to follow…