The 7th grade classes at Triton Middle School did just that in their Social Studies and Language Arts class in collaboration with teaching artists from Young Audiences Arts for Learning.
During a 10-day residency, video game expert, Jason Guy, and puppeteers, David Wright and Robin Holm from Adzooks Puppets, led activities to explore character (avatar) development, video game design, and story development. Eight teams were formed and the teaching artists helped these teams of students to mold and shape their understanding of a sustainable civilization by creating their very own video game plot. Two extremely impressive and creative groups of students were the class winners and here are their games. Watch out gaming industry, here are the creators for the next generation!
Video Game Name:
The Bus Driver
Creators:
Rileigh, Monica, Randy and Austin
Characters:
A jump-roping and back-flipping bus driver named Fred (a secret ninja)
A crazy-eyed, evil Spanish circus ringmaster named Pablo who wants to take over the world
Paul, a dreadlock-lassoing, toga-wearing, road kill eating, magic Honda driving, Great Clips employee
“My name’s Jeff, have a problem with it?” – A gold haired alien with a weakness for lawnmowers
Overview:
Five friends set off on a journey to save the planet from litter (boxes, broken down cars and buses, and trash), and along the way, three of them manage to overtake the evil Pablo and his henchmen Vector, who pretended to be their friend. The game includes special objects such as a purple dinosaur, a magic wand, and a flying bus.
Lesson Learned…
As well as being fun, the game teaches people how to create a sustainable civilization. A sustainable civilization includes a good government and people that don’t litter.
Video Game Name:
The Misfits of Raketopia
Creators:
Adam, Ivy, Hannah, and Mason
Characters:
Timmy (turtle) and Flo (bird) try to change the government, especially the Queen’s law that restricts them from finding more species of birds
Big Bob, whose lazy-eye is in no way connected to his personality – he’s a strict, bossy, hard worker who loves baseball and works for the queen
A boring, crazy-haired, evil and strict Queen Rakelina who flushed a goldfish down the toilet for being too loud (Bob thinks she just needs to play a game of baseball)
Overview:
The Misfits of Raketopia is a game of adventure to prove that misfits can make a difference. Throughout the game, the characters must help Flo fly, collect keys to escape the castle, find materials to build a baseball field together, and convince Queen Rakelina that having fun isn’t so bad!
Lesson Learned…
By working together, planning, and accepting each character for their talents, the kingdom’s strict bans can be lifted and citizens can enjoy life!
Congratulations to the two wonderful groups for all your hard work – your creativity is impressive and entertaining.
This residency was made possible by the generous support of MetLife through Young Audiences, Inc. and Triton Middle School. This is part of a national program that allows Young Audiences affiliates around the country to develop a residency that integrates the arts, digital games and a content area in partnership with schools. Locally, Triton Middle School is one of three schools that participated during the pilot stage along with 6th grade classes at Center for Inquiry #2 and a 7th grade class at Raymond Park Middle School. Nationally, YA Indiana is joined by Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio and Young Audiences Kansas City in this initiative.
For more information contact Ploi Pagdalian at ppagdalian@yaindy.org.
