We just wrapped up our third year of running our Video Game Development Course here at the LNPK Community Hub. Started in the summer of 2024 by one of our AmeriCorps VISTAs with partners in Carlton County, this course was made to create a fun and educational course for students interested in exploring computer science and to get them excited about game development.
Our students came into the course with only four days to make a game. With an average age of 10 and little to no prior programming experience, each student was nonetheless off to the races. Using a collection of over fifty modules and a self-guided structure, all of them worked hard and created a game, with several students even adding their own artwork and mechanics not taught to them. On the final day, they all invited friends and family to a release party to show off their projects to their adoring fans.
By the end of the week, the pride and excitement of the students was obvious. Each student published their games to the internet (which you can check out yourself here, alongside games from previous years), and many even requested access to their project files to continue working on their own back home. Nick Heck, our partner over at Independent School District 709 and the one who got us our students, summed up the feelings perfectly, saying, “I’ve never seen them so quickly, intrinsically engrossed in a project. It was rewarding to see the amount of pride they had in their work and a high level of commitment that doesn’t always get showcased in more traditional schoolwork.”
This course is just one of many we plan to hold here at the LNPK Community Hub, so make sure to keep an eye out for future events. We have plenty of things coming for all ages. And thank you to our partners, Carlton County and ISD 709, for helping us get this course up and running.
