Game Design & Programming Club -- 8-Week Curriculum
LOCATION TBC | Fridays, April 17 -- June 5, 2026
Grades: 5--8 (advanced 4th graders welcome) Sessions: 1.5 hours (2 hours on guest weeks) Tool: GDevelop 5 (all 8 weeks) Guest Producer: Brian Lowe -- Weeks 1, 4 & 8 Publishing Goal: Finished games published to Steam and/or the Grass Valley Arcade (web)
Three Arcs
| Arc | Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | 1 | Intro to game design, GDevelop setup, first tutorial |
| 2D Game | 2--4 | Build a full 2D game from scratch over 3 weeks |
| 3D Game | 5--7 | Build a 3D game from scratch over 3 weeks |
| Demo Day | 8 | Polish, publish, showcase to parents & siblings |
Session Format
- Play-Test Spotlight (10 min): A student demos on the projector.
- Featured Game (5 min): A game Brian Lowe worked on, matching the week's topic.
- Learn (15 min): New concept intro + live demo.
- Build (40--45 min): Hands-on project work.
- Play & Feedback (10 min): Pair up, play each other's builds, structured feedback.
- Wrap-Up (5 min): Preview next week, optional stretch goals.
Semester at a Glance
| Week | Date | Arc | Focus | Featured Game | Guest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 17 | Foundations | Intro to game design + GDevelop | Multi-game tour | Brian |
| 2 | Apr 24 | 2D | Sprites, movement, world building | Gunstar Heroes | |
| 3 | May 1 | 2D | Enemies, hazards, level design | Sonic & Knuckles | |
| 4 | May 8 | 2D | Scoring, polish, "juice," publishing | Rock Band 3 | Brian |
| 5 | May 15 | 3D | 3D space, camera, environment | FNAF: Security Breach | |
| 6 | May 22 | 3D | Interaction, enemies, storytelling | Ace Patrol | |
| 7 | May 29 | 3D | Polish, levels, publishing prep | Rampage 2 | |
| 8 | Jun 5 | Demo Day | Parents, arcade, celebrate! | All of them | Brian |
Downloads
All course materials are available as printable PDFs from the Worksheets section.