Mentor Resource Kit

Game design process steps

This Resource Kit was specifically assembled to give adult mentors an introductory set of materials to help introduce young people (and by extension the mentors themselves) to game design. By using the material in the Kit with your youth, you will help provide new designers with a solid foundation in game design, actionable tools and resources to get them started with making their first game, and a pathway for further learning and game creation.

Resource Kit Contents

Introductory Presentation

We recommend you start with this presentation, which contains an introductory set of materials around game design and the Challenge. When the Challenge presenters introduce game design to students, we often use a variant of this presentation. We invite you to review the presentation, as well as to adapt and reuse it when introducing game design to your students. The presentation contains three major sections:

  • 2013 Challenge Information – Key background, dates, guidelines and procedures for participating in the 2013 Challenge;
  • Why Game Design – Information on the value of designing and making games
  • Game Design 101 – An introduction to game design suitable for use with students and teachers. This section introduces a framework for thinking about game design, the game design process and information on further resources. When used with the hands-on Activity Plans, this section can form the basis for an effective multi-hour hands-on game design workshop.

Download the presentation: Powerpoint PDF

Activity Plans

Hands-on game design activities are a great way to introduce game design concepts to your students. Check out our Workshops page for some example activities that you can do with your students.

Game Design Tools and Resources

There are a wide variety of tools and curricula have become available to teach game design and allow novice designers to make games. Many of these tools are designed specifically for education and allow for the creation of sophisticated games without a need for programming or other technical skills. The Students section of the STEM Challenge website contains information about a number of these tools.

You may also want to check out our downloadable guide to over 50 game design tools and curricula, ranging from the introductory to the tools the professionals use. This guide will give you a sense of the range of tools available to teach game design and will give young people a starting point to find the right tool for them (either to learn game design or to make their own game).

Download the Tools and Resource Guide PDF

Game Design Workshops

Hands-on game design workshops are a fun and effective way of of engaging youth around game design and for introducing basic game design concepts, techniques and resources. Check out our Workshops page for information and resources about hosting your own game design workshops and the ‘Upcoming Events’ sidebar for information on workshops that may be happening in your area.

Making Learning Games

Many parents, teachers and mentors are interested in having their students design games with STEM themes or learning goals. While this is not a requirement of the Challenge, we’ve prepared some resources for mentors and students interested in this type of design.