BE A MAKER MAKER PROJECTS FOR KIDS WHO LOVE GAMEs 018 IC REBECCA SJONGER Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
ARE YOU Do you dream of constructing Minecraft worlds or have nightmares about crashing Jenga towers Are you a fan of the Candy Crush game or did you play the board game Candyland when you were young Whether your favorite is charades dodge ball or chess you belong to a huge group of people who love games GAME MAKERS You can do more than just play games Anyone can become a game maker Nine year old Caine Monroy spent his summer vacation making games from cardboard He built an entire arcade in his father s auto parts store in Los Angeles Nirvan Mullick discovered Caine's Arcade when he came into the store one day Nirvan was Caine s first and most important paying customer Nirvan spread the word about Caine s Arcade and its resourceful inventor He organized a huge fash mob of new customers to surprise Caine Nirvan filmed it and produced a documentary The story of Caine's creativity and entrepreneurship traveled around the globe inspiring other young game makers This led to the creation of the Global Cardboard Challenge Through it more than 250 000 kids have made their own Cardboard games and other inventions Jenga inventor Leslie Scott grew up speaking Swahili in Tanzania The name Jenga comes from the Swahili word meaning
MAKER MOVEMENT Game making is part of the maker movement Makers work in many fields including animation fashion design and robotics They find inspiration in just about anything Makers take risks are resourceful and experiment hands on with creative materials Although their ideas Sometimes fop they can lead to greater inventions In the face of failure makers keep looking for innovative solutions Makerspaces provide places for people to team up and share their tools and knowledge Game makers often get help from other makers such as graphic designers Search for your local makerspace to get involved SKILLS NEEDED Game makers are as diverse as their creations but they each use many of the same skills Math skills such as problem solving reasoning and working with data are valuable for planning games Art and design skills are useful when creating game boards pieces and other graphic elements Makers often collaborate or work together on projects This way each person can share his or her specific skill or talent to contribute to the finished project The ability to work well in a team is very important in game making and other maker projects Communication skills are central to teamwork and presenting your work Developing these skills will help you win at making games WWLTURE Do you or any of your friends enjoy math or design and being part of a team If so game making is for you O
