A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e Te x a s A s s o c i a t i o n o f S c h o o l B o a rd s • Vo l u m e 3 5 , N u m b e r 2 • M a rc h 2 0 1 7
Mastering
‘the Game’
Unique PSJA Courses Let Students
Design Games of the Future
Mastering
‘the Game’
Unique PSJA Courses Let Students
Design Games of the Future
S
even years ago, I began teaching graphic design at
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo (PSJA) ISD’s Memorial Early
College High School. I realized how engrossed my
students were with video games, so I started assigning students theoretical projects related to gaming, such as creating
character art, backgrounds, and even box art for video games.
During my second year, I came across an article regarding the staggering size of the US games market, as well as the
coming boom in mobile gaming technology. Realizing the
opportunity, I forwarded the article to my former principal,
Judith M. Solis, along with a simple, passionate plea: “We
can’t let our students get left behind on this.” The message
resonated, and before evening, I was presenting these ideas to
former district Career & Technology Director Javier J. Saenz.
Saenz signed on and forwarded the message to Superintendent
Daniel P. King.
That same evening, I received a message in my inbox from
Superintendent King: “Would you be willing to take on this
new career pathway?”
“Yes!” I replied eagerly.
Now the Hard Part
That was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out
everything I needed to know to build games within the next six
months. I had prior experience teaching students in both audio
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and video creation tools and graphic design creation tools, but
what I lacked was something to help combine those elements.
What I needed was a way to educate students in creating consistent design and logical, working games.
Initially, I tried a variety of game-programming software,
building on my experience with web development. I planned
to lecture students on coding the way I’d been taught, in a very
traditional “lecture-memorize-repeat” style. But I soon realized this approach was all wrong for today’s millennial “digital
ninjas.”
With Solis’s help, I began developing an approach more
closely aligned with the Common Instructional Framework,
which had the extra benefit of making the class more accessible
to second-language learners and special-needs students. If my
students could master programs such as Photoshop, PowerPoint, or Final Cut Pro X, I theorized, they could learn to make
games just as quickly.
I tried several types of programming software before finding the right one—GameSalad, a mobile game-development
platform created in 2009 by developers in Texas. Experimenting with sample games, I taught myself how to build games
with an enjoyable style. If I were having this much fun, my
students would, too, I reasoned. I realized I could empower my
students not just to imagine what kinds of games they’d like to
create some day—but also to begin creating games now.
Photo courtesy of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD
by Douglas Gregory
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Memorial Early
College High School student Luis Rivera,
with support from the high school’s bear
mascot, demonstrates his class’s interactive game design at the district’s Early
College Career Fair recently.
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Photos courtesy of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD
Game development class students test their designs for functionality and fun. As teacher Douglas Gregory notes, “It takes a lot more
than just ‘a cool idea’ to bring a successful game to market, and my students learn this firsthand.”
PSJA Game Design Pathway Is Born
Today, my intro and advanced game development classes
are some of the most popular on campus. My students come
in knowing little about how their favorite games are made, but
they leave with a profound understanding of the many aspects
of game design and development.
I set the bar high for students, demanding professionalism, focus, passion, and commitment. It takes a lot more than
just “a cool idea” to bring a successful game to market, and my
students learn this firsthand.
First, my students learn the definition of a game: an activity
organized by rules, with goals and a victory condition, and
an environment that enables play. When students start a new
game design, they must define their future game in writing.
Their game build plan is not written in cement. It must be
redrafted as game needs change to meet goals, timelines, and
expectations.
Second, my students experiment with, expand on, and
implement their ideas the same way today’s millennial students
learn best: visually and interactively.
Demonstrating what students need to do in early game
design leads to students taking charge and having the desire
to build on each other’s work. I make sure to give them time
to add their own creative twists to their games. Still, they are
given strict deadlines, which provides an introduction to the
tight schedules and high expectations of the professional software development industry.
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“It feels good to create your
own game, just to see other
people enjoying it—to see the
smiles on their faces enjoying
actually getting into the game—
and knowing that you created
that on your own with your
own hard work.”
The drag-and-drop programming ease of the GameSalad
software allows students to get up and running quickly. Instead
of fighting frustrating syntax errors, hunting down missing
semicolons, or poring over intimidating sample code, my students are visualizing their ideas in days and experiencing the
thrill of seeing their work being enjoyed by others.
“It feels good to create your own game, just to see other
people enjoying it—to see the smiles on their faces enjoying
actually getting into the game—and knowing that you created that on your own with your own hard work,” said former
student Emilio Silguero. “That’s a really good feeling.”
Contest Winners
In 2016, several PSJA Game Design Pathway students
entered a game-design contest sponsored by GameSalad; two
of the three PSJA entries were named winners. These studentbuilt games were shown at the SXSWedu® Conference &
Festival in Austin.
“Monster Night,” created and programmed by then-senior
Roberto De Leon, was named an award winner, as was “Army
Ranger School,” an Advanced Game Design class project created to honor our military and veterans. The “Army Ranger
School” building timeline, from November 2015 until January 2016, allowed students to team up to create and program
each of nine levels to represent the nine weeks that constitute
the actual US Army Ranger School. For level teams, I ranked
class members by programming skills. I then matched up top
students with lower-skilled ones to help them along.
When GameSalad requested that the students polish and
refine the complete nine-level “Army Ranger School” game,
including artwork, play continuity, and audio, the class decided to elect company-style leadership, with Martin Venegas
named head game program designer, De Leon as head game art
designer, and Hector Trevino as head audio designer.
At the start of each day, these three met with me about the
timeline and deadlines. After the first day, Venegas started leading the administrative meetings. De Leon created the original
eight-bit game artwork, and Trevino created both soundtrack
and sound effects.
This class, a mix of juniors and seniors, included 19 Hispanics, two females, five limited-English-proficient students,
and two special education students. They worked every day for
one and a half hours on this award-winning venture.
By project’s end, my students had put in some long hours
and had taken the game beyond contest parameters. Their
“Army Ranger School” game went from a hunk of coal to a dazzling diamond. It was amazing how proud my students were to
see GameSalad’s Twitter photos of people playing their games
at SXSW.
The “Monster Night” game, created and programmed by Advanced Game Design student
Roberto De Leon, was named an award winner in
competition.
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Photos courtesy of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD
According to the
market research
firm Newzoo,
the global gaming
market was an
astounding $99.6
billion industry in
2016.
Presenting their game design at PSJA ISD Early College Career Fair for fifth-graders
recently are Memorial Early College High School seniors (at left) Luis Rivera and (at right)
Lety Echavarria.
Opening New Doors
According to the market research firm Newzoo, the global gaming market was a $99.6
billion industry in 2016. The research firm also expects this to be the first year that mobile
gaming overtakes PC and console gaming, with the global gaming market expected to reach
an astounding $118.6 billion by 2019. Forecasts such as this will continue to drive game
design to the top of IT career lists, mandating a need for programmers, animators, artists,
creative designers, testers, marketers, and more.
Current and future game design students must train with both soft and hard skills to
rise to the top, and they need to learn to work in design teams with professional software.
Creating games builds students to push their own limits of self-expectations, including
qualities, timelines, and deadlines. They each must possess a mental toolbox filled with
state-of-the-art STEM skills.
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“Army Ranger School,” an Advanced Game Design class project created to honor the US military
and veterans, was an award winner in game development competition.
Hidalgo County, where PSJA Memorial High School is located, is
one of the poorest counties per capita in the United States, and the county’s percentage of college-educated citizens is about half of the national
average.
Despite these statistics, expectations are high for PSJA ISD’s school
board, administration, faculty, staff—and especially the students. For
the past nine years, Superintendent King’s vision, focus, and initiatives
have zeroed in on ensuring that the district’s students are “college ready,
college connected, and college complete.” And it’s working. You can find
many amazing stories on the district’s website and YouTube channel, including a PBS “Frontline” story that documents the progress being made
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1MW-5JkO3E&list=PL88530253108
E49DE).
Helping prepare students for the challenges of today’s job market is
a critical component of PSJA’s success, and these game design courses
have been a game changer. Nearby Texas State Technical College in Harlingen recently approved a proposal to offer dual credit for the courses,
giving these students a head start on a pathway to either an associates of
applied science degree in digital media design technology or an associates of applied science degree in game development and programming.
Looking back over the past several years has provided proof to me
that you can judge a career pathway by the passionate and successful
students taking the courses. Currently, eight current or former PSJA
Memorial Game Design Pathway students are enrolled in college pursuing their dreams. I can hardly wait to see where they find success after
completing their postsecondary education.
Helping prepare students
for the challenges of
today’s job market is a
critical component of
PSJA’s success, and these
game design courses have
been a game changer.
Douglas Gregory is a game design teacher at PSJA Memorial Early College
High School. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
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