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Library hosts video game creation camp
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.The three children who signed up for the video game creation camp at the Boardman library got ready to begin during the first day of the camp.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Youth services librarian Allison Graf logged onto a computer to help the children get started during the first day of the video game creation camp at the Boardman library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Boardman library youth services librarian Allison Graf put out for display several books on video game creation during the video game camp.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Boardman library youth services librarian Allison Graf told the children what they would be doing during the five sessions of the video game creation camp.
By TIM CLEVELAND
After the success of its video game creation camp earlier in the summer, the Boardman library hosted another every Tuesday during the month of September.
The dates of the camp were Sept. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Each session lasted about 90 minutes.
“I had taken a class on ways to engage teens and tweens in the library and I thought this might be fun for kids here in the community,” said youth services librarian Allison Graf on how the idea for doing the camp started.
The camp originally had five children sign up, but two dropped out before the start.
“Each lesson will build on what we learned the previous week, so that by the end of it the kids will have video games that they can play from their own computers and share with friends and family,” Graf said. “Tonight we’re going to play some video games because the best way to learn how to make your own is to play. Next week we’re going to work on fixing broken video games. The week after that, we’ll start to make our own ones.”
One of the children who signed up was 10-year-old Maggie, from New Wilmington, Pa.
“She [grandmother Jackie] signed me up for it,” Maggie said. “I do like video games on the occasion.”
Maggie said she likes to play Minecraft and Terraria.
Graf said the children in the prior camp had some creative games.
“They were some really good kids who I can see having a future in the video game production industry if that’s what they choose to do,” she said. “There were some fun games that they came up with by the end.
“Hopefully they will be inspired to want to read more about careers in the video game industry or just recognize that the library is a fun place for them to go and we’re offering lots of different programs. They’re going to learn basic computer programming type stuff. If it’s something that they’re good at, I’m going to be able to give them some resources for things that they can do on their own beyond this course.”