Video Game Design/Developers

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  • 1.  Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 02-28-2024 11:22

    What stuff do you guys do to market your programs? Do you feel like you need to?

    I feel like I need to, one of the goals of my program is that it acts as a magnet, so I put a lot of effort into getting my program to be a public facing as possible.

    We host a preview night for incoming 8th graders and I have a bunch of my capstone kids booth with me. I also go out to the feeder schools to get my program out in front of them earlier than that.



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    Brian Bautista k12teacher
    Citrus Heights CA
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  • 2.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 02-28-2024 11:39
    140 kids in the high school.  Not much marketing needed.  I get all the freshmen for Computer Apps so I get to show them what is offered.  Freshmen that do not need the Computer Apps I build something for them on the fly.  Unity, or Python or Java or whatever they might be interested in.  Small classes so I can do that.  Right now I have one freshman working in my small separate classroom on VR.  He was breezing through the Computer Apps stuff.  Word gets around in a hurry.

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    Garth Flint
    Computer Science Teacher
    Loyola Sacred Heart High School
    406-531-7497





  • 3.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-11-2024 19:33

    My CSP students build an arcade game (we use pygame) for their midterm grade. We create an arcade  in the main hallway that stays up during exam week. It's about 15 computers, so not everyone gets their program put on display. This generates a lot of interest as all middle school and upper school students walk by and give the games a try. The range of skills on display encourages many students to learn more about what we do.

    This year, the CSA crew built a program to convert a bitmap image into a paint by numbers grid. We ran it through LaTeX to generate a 76"x48" mural (pixels turned into 1" squares) that was put on display at our School Maker Faire last week. We invited passers-by to each paint 10-15 non-contiguous squares and it was completed just before the two hours was up! 

    Mike



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    Mike McCue k12teacher
    Macon GA
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  • 4.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-12-2024 11:55

    the arcade library is a great idea, is it something you do on just your campus or do you take it to your feeders?



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    Brian Bautista k12teacher
    Citrus Heights CA
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  • 5.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-12-2024 13:18
    I am at a small k-12 private school (<1000 students) so we have one campus. I could easily do it in multiple hallways because I use older computers and don't have to worry (much) about equipment walking off. I also don't use keyboards or mice because I force the students to make their games work with my custom-built controllers. This makes maintenance easier. If a game stops working, a simple reboot is all that's required. 

    Mike





  • 6.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-14-2024 14:24

    My district has been working overtime to promote CTE to our middle schoolers and admin with mixed results. We visited the middle schools a few times and had an open house last month to reinforce the middle school visits. I find my program is in this weird limbo because the students that would excel in game design all enroll in BioMed because it has all of the clout (and props to that teacher for marketing the hell out of it), whereas the kids that identify as "gamers", as we know, aren't always the best students and are SHOCKED that they are expected to work and not just play on their phones all period.

    My campus has approximately 1,900 students and my enrollment fluctuates between 80-120 depending on the year. Ethnic Studies is a freshman requirement starting next year, so that will have a negative impact on enrollment, at least in the short term.



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    Wesley Jeffries k12teacher
    Riverside CA
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  • 7.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-14-2024 15:51
    This is why you cannot focus on recruiting gamers.  Gamers often do not want to learn how to build games.  That is a lot of work.  Sell on where learning to code and build games can take them.  Recruit art students on the idea of designing game characters and scenes.  Recruit music students on building scores for the games.  Recruit gamers on the idea of how to design a game that would be a good game to play.  With a game curriculum the kids get to build things.  BioMed they do not build diddly.  When done with a game course they have a product for a portfolio.  Game making is like having a really cool Lego kit where you can build anything you can imagine.

    Find a game making studio in your area.  There is bound to be an indie shop somewhere nearby.  Have them do a show-and-tell of what they do.

    A coding/game curriculum cannot survive on just computer geeks or gamers.  You need to attract the other kids.  Last semester I offered a movie making course with Unity.  I pulled in the kids big on making videos and drama students.  This semester I am teaching a Graphic Art class.  No coding, no game building, just art software.  Right now they are doing VR art with OpenBrush.  Those kids next year are going to want to do something more on the computer.

    You have to dream up things to attract the non-computer kids.  There simply are not enough computer geeks to carry a program.  Maybe offer a course where all they play with is OpenToonz to build cartoon movies.  Design characters, backgrounds, dialog, animations and whatever.  Watch some cartoons to get ideas.  BioMed could not compete.

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    Garth Flint
    Computer Science Teacher
    Loyola Sacred Heart High School
    406-531-7497





  • 8.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-14-2024 15:56
    Totally agree,

    The reason my program is built the way it is, is to grow the tent as much as possible. "Gamer Kids" usually aren't my stars. 



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  • 9.  RE: Wednesday Check in - Recruitment/Marketing

    Posted 03-19-2024 16:27

    Our high school has an "advisory week". All of the electives and CTE classes make Google Slides all shared in one place. We set up tables at lunch. We have an 8th grade parent night. We also school-wide speak to our students one-on-one during that week about the classes they are selecting for the next year. Each student talks with each of their teachers during that week, usually just about that dept but some teachers go above and beyond talking about the whole schedule.

    Beyond that week I don't do too much marketing. I usually have a steady since Game Design II class every year coming from the many, many coding classes at my school.



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    Brendan Dilloughery k12teacher
    Mountain View CA
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