This past Saturday, we collaborated with Black Girls Code to organize a workshop and short game jam. 57 girls showed up to create video games. We also had a workshop for parents who wanted to learn about careers in game development. This was the final event of 2014 for Black Girls Code – what a way to end the year!

The workshop

Our 3-hour GameMaker workshop was led by Maria Naggaga of Microsoft. With the help of many volunteers, we managed to teach 57 girls how to use the program and create pixel art for their games.

Game jam

Due to the young age of our participants, we decided to have a shorter game jam. The theme, inspired by recent events in America, was togetherness.

Participants were split into two sections based on age, then were directed to form teams. We informed them that game development includes many different roles – programming, design, UI, art, sound, and so on. Everyone had something to do.

Presentations

At 4:30PM, the girls presented their games. Here are photos of some games we saw!

A big thanks to Black Girls Code, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and Microsoft for helping us to make this happen. 57 girls of color now know how to make games. The future of games is bright!