Programming & Gaming

These courses are perfect for game enthusiasts that want to pursue their dreams of becoming a serious Game Developer or for creative and imaginative children with a healthy sense of fun!  Topics covered are: tools, references, and context to design games across a variety of platforms including mobile devices.  While gaining programming  and problem-solving skills and experience, students will also meet and connect with fellow gamers, in this small and friendly community setting.

BEGINNER

 Fundamentals and Typing

Ages 6-9

Improve your child’s skills related to navigating Windows, using a mouse, keyboard and typing finger placement and speed, and opening, closing and saving software files.

 Roblox Modding

Ages 8-12

 Roblox is a platform on which anyone can bring their imagination to life, by building rich, immersive 3D experiences. To do so, developers build places, structures, and machines, modify terrain, animate characters, and define the behaviors and mechanics of the world programming using Lua. Roblox and Minecraft Modding teach different programming languages, so don’t worry, your children can take both courses and have just as much fun!

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Coding & Jr. Game

Ages 7-9

Enjoy using your imagination to create a unique and colorful computer game world. Design the terrain and scene. Learn how to animate objects and program them to move or collide with each other. For fun, children will make their own game controllers out of play dough, fruit or anything that conducts electricity. Additional activities include movement games, group and individual board and card games, and discussing game theory and what good sportsmanship means.

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Jr. Minecraft Modding

Ages 8-12

Explore the infinite uses of command blocks and program in Javascript to make Minecraft Mods. Put your knowledge to the test by building your own effects, generating custom structures, spawning in awesome mobs, and more! Expect to develop an understanding of coding logic by programming your own mods. Get your first exposure to a high level text based programming language by adding additions to Minecraft. Roblox and Minecraft Modding teach different programming languages, so don’t worry, your children can take both courses and have just as much fun!

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INTERMEDIATE

Game Creation

Ages 10-17

Master the fundamental building blocks of game logic and complex code centered development environments. The immediate results of creativity and programming will be clear in the production of all aspects of the game. Children also enjoy creating video games in the company of other enthusiastic “gamers”.

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Game Creation: Intermediate/Advanced

Ages 10-17

Prerequisite: Game Creation

This course is for students with a basic knowledge of game development that want to continue growing and enjoy being part of a group of developers.  Assistance regarding the approach taken to coding and the best format to use will be provided.  For Game Creator enthusiasts, you can take this course as many times as you’d like!

Mobile App Development

Ages 10-14

Build mobile applications from the ground up.  Students will code using a graphical user interface to make apps for Android devices.  This course solidifies programming essentials such as computational thinking and basic programming skills.  Steps for making mobile apps for Apple and how to make cross platform apps will be covered.

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Minecraft Modding/Java

Ages 12-14

Experiment with making Minecraft Mods using Java.   Students new to modding and Java are welcome.  There is no prerequisite to this course.  We will continue to work on typing proficiency if needed, to ready students for straight text based programming languages.

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ADVANCED

Java Programming

Ages 12-17

Introduction to Java and text based programming languages. Write simple programs using Java syntax and proper structure. Fundamental programming concepts will be taught, including variables, arrays, conditionals, loops, data structures, physics, and reasoning. Develop a basic game app for use on a cell phone. Implementation of apps onto mobile devices will be taught in Java II, since it involves more complex code.

Java: Intermediate/Advanced

Ages 12-17

Prerequisite: Java Programming

This course is for students with a basic knowledge of Java who want to expand upon the fundamentals. Students will enjoy diving further into the Object-Oriented Programming paradigm, understanding the abstract flow and structure used in enterprise level software.  For Java enthusiasts, this course can be repeated as many times as they’d like.  We have plenty to do!

3D Animation

Ages 12-17

This course will give an overview of developing a 3D animation from modeling to rendering. Students will learn the basics of surfacing, lighting, animation and modeling techniques, and will explore volumetrics, modifiers, particle systems, Booleans and inverse kinematics.

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EXPERT

C# programming, Level I

Ages 14-17

Prerequisite: Java Programming, Java Intermediate or Java Intensive and Unity

This course will introduce students to the basics of C#. Learn the fundamentals of visual C# programming and concepts applicable to video games, mobile environments, and client applications. We walk you through getting the tools, writing code, debugging features, customization, and much more!

Advanced Game, Unity

Ages 13-17

Prerequisite: Game Creation, Java Programming, Java Intermediate and Advanced. Recommended to take this course with C#.

This course is for students with an intermediate to advanced level of game development understanding.  The software and tools used in this course are used in the industry professionally, by professional game developers. These students have already explored multiple game making packages and developed games in the past. Students will enjoy expanding their existing skills and incorporating and manipulating 3D objects into their interactive worlds.

C# Programming, Level II

Ages 14-18

Prerequisite: C# Programming Level I

A continuation of C# programming Level I, in which students will expand upon these concepts. 

Develop for Android Devices

Ages 15-18

Prerequisite: Java I & Java II.  Recommended: C#

In this course, students will apply their knowledge of previous coding languages to develop apps and games specifically for android devices. This class teaches coding in the context of mobile technology, and is perfect for any aspiring app developer.