GamerCamp Junior Confirmed
From the organizers of the very popular GamerCamp comes GamerCamp Jr. Toronto developers Mark and Jaime want to help the next generation of designers become more games literate and support any games-related ventures to express themselves whether it be as an enthusiastic player, a creative developers, or a thoughtful part of the media.
GamerCamp Junior offers a three part program to this venture for creative youngsters:
Game kits—We’re really excited for the game kits, which focus on critically thinking about why a game works or doesn’t work and then attempt to inspire remixing of the game to guide children in making their own games. For example, we took the beloved game Scrabble and created an entirely new game using the same board and pieces—this is one way to demonstrate to children that creating games isn’t bounded by programming experience or access to materials. We wanted to focus on kits that could be accessed from anywhere, so that children from across Canada can check us out. There are three kits right now spanning digital, physical, and board games: each are free to download on our website and come in a handy PDF.
Website—The Gamercamp Jr website will be the hub for all activity. We’ll be working with more game makers to create new kits to add to our library and as we find more information on helping children learn about making games we will post them to the website. We’d love to do a video on how games are made and are currently looking into resources to help accomplish this. The website is also where information about the meet-ups will be posted and you can also learn other ways to get involved with Gamercamp Jr!
Live Meet-ups—We think building a community is pretty amazing stuff—so having children and parents come together to work on games and meet other interested children and parents seems like a no-brainer. We know parents love making games too and trying out cool activities so Gamercamp Jr meet-ups requires both the child and parent/guardian to show up. Geared for kids 9 -13, the first GamerCamp Jr. Live Meet-up happens September 10, 2011 and is completely free. We’ll be working through the activities in the kits and more. Register now to participate.
By the way, the next regular GamerCamp takes place on November 25th through 27th. Tickets go on sale next month.
