Embark on an epic journey through the exciting world of programming! In this introductory camp, you will learn how to create your own adventure game using basic game mechanics. Our experienced instructors provide a supportive and engaging environment where campers can thrive, improve their critical thinking skills and get their creative juices flowing.
You will learn how to code and script-program your own 2D games using Inkscape and Godot. Design your own hero, create your own world and choose your adventure.
When?
Monday March 17 - Friday March 21, 2025.
1:00pm-4:00pm.
Who?
This camp is for students in grades 5-7.
Where?
The Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology (VISST): 1490 West Broadway, Vancouver.
Why should you attend?
Exercise both the left and the right side of your brain by learning to code and designing your own fantasy world.
Build something you can share with your friends and family.
Try something you won’t find in school that combines coding and video game art.
Earn a certificate of completion from the Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology.
What will you learn?
Hello World!: We will start with an Introduction to coding using Inkscape and Godot. Students will start designing their own heroes. They will also program simple character movements.
A-mazing World!: With heroes to work with, students can now start crafting their own worlds for their heroes to explore. They will learn how to set up tilemaps and generate a custom maze for their heroes to navigate through.
Level Up Graphics: Students will spend more time on the graphical side of game design and level up their game’s aesthetics, starting with their heroes. They will transform their heroes from a simple circle to whatever vision they have for them.
Look Out!: Every adventure has hazards and hurdles to avoid and overcome. Students will come up with their own idea on what hazards to introduce into their game’s world.
Ka-ching!: Every adventure should have a purpose. Students will decide what the purpose of their game is and what rewards their heroes should get to move their adventure along.
Timers and Scores: How do we know how many points we have? How long do we have to escape our mazes? Students will learn how to set up global variables that can communicate information from one game element to another.
Lives and Game Over: What happens when we run into too many hazards? Typically the adventure ends. We will end the current adventure and start again from the beginning. Students will spend some time creating their own “game-over screens” to indicate the end of an adventure and to reload the player into a new game should they choose to restart.
Audio and Final Polishes: What’s a game without audio? Sound effects and background music will be added as finishing touches to really bring the adventure to life.
Play with Friends: Students will be able to export their games into playable formats that can be uploaded online.
Program Requirements
Students should bring their own Laptop and mouse (designing games is difficult on a trackpad).
Students should try to install and run the free Godot and Inkscape software prior to camp.
If you want to borrow a laptop from us, we have a VERY limited number available. Please email us to request one.
Camp Instructor
Thanh Nguyen
Thanh is a multimedia artist with over a decade of experience in teaching creative technology and digital fabrication in the Metro Vancouver region. Since graduating from the Art Institute of Vancouver with a degree in Game Art and Design, she has been teaching game design and programming, 3D modeling and animation. She has been developing specialized curriculums and teaching creative technology courses, workshops and camps with Byte Camp and MakerLabs, and is currently the Design and Technology Specialist with VISST. Thanh is always looking for ways to provide accessible avenues of learning to students keen on learning about the digital arts.
Make it a Full-Day camp
If you want to make this a full day camp experience, you can register for this camp AND our Puzzle Game Programming camp from 9:00am-12:00pm (March 17-21) concurrently and save $40. Students who take both camps can stay at VISST from 12:00-1:00pm for a supervised lunch. Please bring your own lunch (no nuts or seafood).
Fees and Registration
If the fee is a barrier to your participation, a limited number of bursaries are available for eligible families - please email camps@visst.ca to inquire.
Refund policy: Email us at least 1 weeks (7 days) prior to the start of the camp for a full refund.
Cancellation policy: VISST reserves the right to cancel camps and refund camp fees due to low enrolment. In this event, we will provide as much advance notice as possible.
Questions?
Please email camps@visst.ca