Google Fiber sponsors local students' video game

Google Fiber sponsors local students' video game

(Audrey Livingston, Salt Lake County Library Services)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The video game industry is primarily made up of multi-million dollar companies where the average worker is 30 years old.

However, in the last decade the growth of indie games, web-based marketing, mobile platforms and more have stirred changes. "Minecraft" was originally designed by one person, "Temple Run" by three individuals, and the next generation is preparing to shake things up more. Local students have broken into this industry and want their peers to know that they too can design games.

The Power Up! Game Design Lab with SpyHop Productions is one such group that has taken student-produced game design to a new level. Power Up! is a 10-month, intensive capstone program where a small group of students collaborate on a game from creation to publication. The current group's game will be unveiled with Google Fiber, a sponsor on the project, this summer. The game's title has not yet been determined.

Elizabeth Schultze, the adult interaction design mentor for Power Up!, calls game design "the gateway to computer programming.” It calls for programming, but also involves story, art, animation and more skills. Bryan Smith, an 18-year-old student on the Power Up! team, said of game design: “I think of it as the motherload of all creative mediums. It takes writing, art (and) programming, and puts it in one unique game.”

The students with Power Up! said obtaining technical skills was just part of the process. A large part of creating a successful game is having good communication and social skills. Sebastien Bustamante, a 17-year-old student with Power Up!, recommended hopeful programmers “prepare to be social with everyone” and Sero, a 19-year-old team member and artist, added that “gaming overall isn’t meant to be one person by themselves — the community is what makes gaming great.”

Ryan Worthington sits in front of Attack Bots, the game he created with his father Jonathan Worthington. (Photo: Jonathan Worthington)
Ryan Worthington sits in front of Attack Bots, the game he created with his father Jonathan Worthington. (Photo: Jonathan Worthington)

When starting out in game design, however, individuals will spend many hours learning and testing things out. That learning can begin at a young age. When asked how he started out, 10-year-old Ryan Worthington recommended people “get Scratch and watch some videos on how to make games with it." From Scratch, Ryan moved onto Unity.

“It’s a little hard to learn to use, but I am only 10 and I made a whole game with it. So anybody can do it too," he said.

Ryan and his father, Jonathan Worthington, made the game "Attack Bots" for the 2016 Global Game Jam in the style of a first-person shooter.

Ryan’s older brother, 16-year-old Nathan Worthington, also creates games using Unity and Blender. Like Ryan, Nathan spent time learning and refining his games.

“I can see how much I have improved over time between each game I have helped with,” he said.

Photo: Courtesy of SpyHop
Photo: Courtesy of SpyHop

Along with taking time to learn, knowing how to work as a team, and becoming familiar with programming languages like Scratch and Unity, students who have created video games had other recommendations for those wanting to get into game design.

Sophie Valdez, a 16-year-old student with Power Up! and avid writer, said she doesn’t work on video games because of the possibility of success or money.

“Success would be nice, but I’m doing video game design because I love it,” she said.

This game is the first one Sophie has worked on. She compared the experience of game design to writing, in that “you’ll fail a lot of times."

"Even if you try the first time and it fails, come back to it later," she said. "Don’t give up on it.”

Sero also encouraged those who are interested in learning how to create games.

“Go for it … I found that I’m most satisfied when I just go for it," she said. "If you have an idea, pursue it.”

If you want to learn more about game design, the Power Up! team recommends learning skills through Lynda.com and the You Tube channel Extra Credits.

To find out more about SpyHop Productions Power Up Program, visit the organization's website.


![Carrie Rogers-Whitehead](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2585/258536/25853698\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Carrie Rogers-Whitehead -----------------------------------------

Carrie Rogers-Whitehead is a senior librarian at Salt Lake County Library. In addition, she is an instructor at Salt Lake Community College and CEO and co-founder of Digital Respons-Ability. Carrie can be reached at carrie@respons-ability.net.

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