IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2012 - 30

Lesson Plan

Build Your
Own Game!

y

You've probably played lots of computeror phone-based games-but would you
like to try making your own game?
We've gathered and tested plenty of
available software, and in this activity
you can build your own game.

Program Your Own Computer
Game or App at Home
The easiest way to try to build a computer game is to download some of the
free or shareware software designed
for gaming. We recommend that you
download and install the free version
of YoYo Games' GameMaker software
(http://www.yoyogames.com /game_
showcases/273/legac y_download). Note
that there is a free limited version and
higher-level versions that charge a fee.
The free one is best to start with-you
can build some simple games and see
how you enjoy the process. You can
share your game file with friends who
also have the software, and they can
see what you created too. You may
also wish to first view the tutorials
(www.yoyogames.com/make/tutorials)
for some guidance on how to use the
software.

"pong" ball-that would be a good one
to try.

Step Two

to the software. There is a nice tutorial
that uses fruits instead of the original

DiD you Know?
1) One of the first computer games was developed in 1961, when Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) students Martin Graetz and Alan Kotok, with MIT employee Stephen Russell,
developed Spacewar! on a computer used for statistical calculations.
2) The first generation of PC games consisted of text adventures or interactive fiction, in which the
player communicated with the computer by entering commands through a keyboard.
3) In programming, or coding, software engineers instruct a computer, line by line, how to perform
a function.
4) Mobile games are the most popular type of apps among smartphone users.

Step One
It's best to start small and build a simple game like "pong" just to get used
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2012.2215258
Date of publication: 1 November 2012

30

IEEE women in engineering magazine

Think about something you enjoy doing
and write down some ideas for a game
that might be fun to do that relates
to something you know a lot about or
that you enjoy. Your characters can be
anything you want them to be-and you
can use clip art-you don't have to be
able to draw to make a really fun and
visually appealing game.

december 2012	



http://www.yoyogames.com/game_ http://www.yoyogames.com/make/tutorials

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2012

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