Want to learn how to make games? Don’t know where to start? Want to learn from a game developer? Without them, this program wouldn’t be possible.
Then GameCraft, a FREE program for children ages 10-12 in the Greater Lawrence area interested in game development, is for you! With a focus on underserved and at-risk youth in the Greater Lawrence area, GameCraft’s mission is to provide local young people with the tools necessary to program and develop games and software. GameCraft remains free to students in order to fulfill this mission. As a c
hild growing up in Lawrence, founder Tyler Haddad became heavily interested in video games, as many children today do. He began learning how to program and develop games on his own, using his computer, internet connection, and a dash of Google-fu. Going on to lead game development teams, release game products to market, and found his own game development studio (Psychoactive Entertainment), he realized that many young people in and around Lawrence don’t have the same opportunities to learn game development that he had at their age. In order to bridge that gap, he now is starting GameCraft as a free program for local children to gain the same opportunities he had. GameCraft will cover Game Maker: Studio, a commonly used game development tool in the game industry, used by developers that went on to sell millions of copies of their games. Students will get the chance to not only learn this tool and gain a foundation in coding, but will have the chance to ask their instructor questions they would not otherwise be able to online. With a hands-on learning environment, students will leave their session with a fully-functional game that they created! An enormous thank you to the City of Lawrence, Mass DiGI, Eli’s Place, and Becker College’s IT Department.
