Zaniac Debuts 3D Game Design Program
Zaniac,
a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) franchise with
locations in eight states, has introduced a new course designed to
teach students in grades 4-8 how to develop their own
video games.
The course, called 3D Game Design, teaches video
game design and programming, including game mechanics,
three-dimensional animation and character models. Students will use
modeling software, Gimp image editing software, the Unity game engine
and the C# programming language. The 90-minute classes meet
weekly for six weeks or daily for one week during summer vacation and
other school breaks. The 3D Game Design course launches on June 20,
2016.
Zaniac offers a Mastery Progression Program for students
who want to learn more about 3D game design. To earn a certificate of
mastery, students must complete three courses:
- 3D Character
Design, which teaches game design concepts such as rule implementation,
game flow and paper prototyping, as well as 3D character modeling
using Blender software;
- 3D Environment Design, which teaches
concepts such as genre, random generation, character and world
interaction and sound design, as well as the Unity game engine and Gimp
image editing software; and
- C# Fundamentals, which teaches
object-oriented programming concepts such as classes, methods and
strings, and 3D gaming concepts such as lighting effects, gravity and
other physics, movement, transformations and artificial intelligence
(AI).
Other STEM courses available through Zaniac include
Zaniac Robotics: LEGO, App Creation, 3D Printing, Fashion Design and
Game-Based Learning: Minecraft.
Zaniac campuses currently operate
in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North
Carolina, Texas and Utah. The company hopes to expand to 50 campuses by
2017.
Further information about the company's STEM courses can be found on Zaniac's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.