Teaching Game Development To Fine Arts Students?

jkavalier writes "I've been asked to prepare a short course (50 hours) of video game development to Fine Arts students. That means people with little-to-no technical skills, and hopefully, highly creative individuals. By the end of it, I would like to have finished 1-3 very basic minigames. I'm considering Unity 3D, Processing, and even Scratch. How would you approach teaching such a course? What do you think is the best tool/engine/environment for such a task?"

Comments

Break them into teams assisting Open Source.

[DontLickJesus]

As the lead developer over at http://nova-initia.com/ I applaud this effort and offer this advice:

Fine Arts students are going to have a knack for the story telling portion of this project. Those musically inclined will grasp the programming concepts quickest, and there will be an artist or two in the bunch. Authors will be used to organization of time lines, so thing project managers there. Most of all, write up a survey for them early on for hints on what they're interested or already talented in.

As far as the language / engine portion goes, my suggestion is to team up with a free / open source project. The underlying engine doesn't matter as much as the core concepts. A good team will have a bug tracking system divided out into a helpful group of areas for you to cover. Having the class take on bugs from the projects as study work will help to reach into the deep technical areas without overreaching each student's comfort area. For those who do show ability in the deeper technical aspects, have them relate in their own terms how the problem was solved, and the team will grow.

Last, but definitely not least, do not forgo the project management and business aspects of game development. Deadlines, project scope, and performance limitations are just as integral in a game's development as the original idea team. Placing reasonable limits on resources and time will inspire creativity among the team. Giving your students the opportunity to be involved with a project that stands every chance of being played in real life will motivate them more than anything else. Game development covers a broad range of talent and experience, find the blend that fits the class.