Low Threshold Game Development for Design Thinking
Abstract: Game development curriculum is commonly used as a way to teach STEM concepts. The challenge is that often there is more emphasis on the programmatic aspects of game design as on the design and humanities aspects. It seems to be backwards at times - where the goal is more about making good programmers than good game designers. In addition, there is the aspect of access. While some game development platforms such as Scratch democratizes access, the question shifts to one of lowering the threshold to the point where any instructor can include game development into their curriculum. Shifting towards a design-based curriculum for game creation allows students to work in the domain of a designer, implementing process-based strategies. These skills can be in turn used to tackle a variety of “sticky problems”. A design based game curriculum allows students to work inside the domain of designer through a media that they are intimately familiar with. Leveraging this experience in game playing encourages students to think critically about the games they play, and the ways that creative problem solving can be used to create a game that is fun to play.
Presider: Julie Marsh