Video Game Design Foundations

Find out what it takes to be a visionary video game designer as you learn the fundamentals of game design. Learn about gameplay and game mechanics and how to take a game from level map sketches to paper prototypes to playable demo. Try out different roles on your team to see if you like being a level designer, character artist, cut-scene director or code guru. Using MultiMedia Fusion 2, create your own customized level with unique characters, goals, mechanics, hazards, power-ups and layouts that showcase your knowledge and personality.

Video Game Design Advanced*

Take your video game design experience to the next level! Get in depth with Multimedia Fusion 2 as you learn to leverage logic and apply math and physics principles for awesome effects. Create playable demos, learn how to assemble cut-scenes to develop plot and character, then collaborate with your fellow designers to create an original game, complete with custom sound, art and animation. After debugging and beta testing, take home the development file for your game, plus a whole collection of games made by your fellow designers.
* Previous video game design experience required.

Web Design

Discover the wonders of the web as you learn the basics of programming, design and user experience and build your own site! Working on Macintosh computers, study website structure, then use HTML and CSS to program your site. Investigate how colors, imagery and layout can affect the way users perceive content and use Photoshop, iPhoto and the WYSIWYG tool Wix to make your website layout vision a refined reality. After a thorough debugging, publish your site to the web and celebrate with a launch party!

Lego Robotics

Step into the future as you learn the basics of designing, constructing and programming your own robots. Using Lego Mindstorms NXT, design WALL-E-style bots that make the world a greener place by creatively managing trash. Learn about today's robot technology, as well as real-world challenges in dealing with garbage and recycling, to better understand how your innovative robots can make a difference. Program your robots to accomplish specific tasks throughout the week, culminating in a First Lego League-style challenge!