A group of teens just spent the last 14 weeks answering this very question, and the fruits of their labors will be on display at a gala opening tonight at the Lab:
Work by Brienne Hong, Shaye Hong, Anthony Truong, Kim Daniel-Richardson, Brendan Conklin, Glenda Maxine Zhu, Sloan Zhu, and Tatiana Ariza.
Music provided by DJ 50Cal
Please join us for the one-night exhibition/arcade, potluck, and celebration of “My Life The Video Game.”
“My Life The Video Game,” is a 14-week workshop where teens design, program, and produce video games, based on goals, challenges, and rules in their real lives. The workshop was developed and facilitated by Marijke Jorritsma in collaboration with the Lab and San Francisco Art Institute’s City Studios program.
RSVP and invite your friends here.
Artist bios and game descriptions after the jump:
Fang Maxine Zhu is a writer, artist and a cosplayer. When she is not writing stories, she is talking to her girlfriend. Fang loves all sorts of video games and is constantly looking for new games to play and enjoy. When she grows up she hopes to become a veterinarian, possibly doing some professional writing and modeling no the side. She has currently written and uploaded 30 stories to fanfiction.net and has had one of her stories published. Fang has also been in many modeling and cosplay photoshoots and works closely with the vet at the Animal Care and Control of the City and County of San Francisco. She has successfully changed one of her best friend’s name as well as her own, so that almost no one calls them by their real names. Being open about everything, Fang makes all kinds of friends. This is Fang’s first video game.
Fang’s Video Game
The objective of my game is to pass school while doing well with writing, drawing and keeping your girlfriend happy. In order to play, your character must choose what you would like to do to start off the semester. If your character doesn’t keep up with their writing, drawing or their girlfriend, then they lose the game.
My idea for this game came from the things that I do in my everyday life. In order to make it, I had to decide on how I was to go about the game and then figure out how to do so. The most challenging part of making this game was deciding on what to make the game about. While making this game, I learned how to make my favorite kind of video games.
Sloan Zhu is a 11th grader who cannot seem to think of a topic for this sentence. In addition to being lazy, he is also a good writer and is always trying to make everything funny for people. He is constantly trying to get all types of games for himself and his sister to play and enjoy. Other than learning a little programming in the 8th grade, he has no prior experience making video games. He looks forward to learning more about computers and game consoles. He has died by lava, died from drowning, and died by arrows…in a game.
Life Of Sloan Zhu the Game
The objective of my game is to avoid distractions and get to the end without getting distracted.
In order to play, your character must travel using the arrow keys.
If your character gets hit 9 times by the distractions, you will lose the game.
My idea for this game came from playing platform games.
In order to make it, I had to work on it every Wednesday and learn about how to use the program “Scratch” and know what I wanted to make.
The most challenging part about making this was the lack of ideas and the lack of actually working.
In making this game, I learned how to use the program “Scratch”.
Anthony Truong is a senior from the school, city arts and technology and he likes sleeping in on days off. When he is not talking to friends through the internet, he is stealing food from his fridge and pantry. He likes playing many types of games but he likes final fantasy, kingdom hearts, and most rpgs best. He always tries out new games and tries to see which games are fun. He has never made a video game or learned about the scripts that have to go into a video game to be able to make it. He looks forward to going to college and learning new subjects. He has stayed awake through 3 whole days and played over 15 different types of massive multiplayer online games.
Life of a Slacker (Tony’s Game)
The object of this game is to get through the day. You have to try and wake up on time to get to school on time. In order to play, your character must make it to the end of the maps safely. If your character runs out of lives you lose the game. My idea for this game came from my life and what I do every day. In order to make it I had to learn how to program gravity and lives into a game. I also had to learn how to make lives and put the scripts into the game. The most challenging part of making this game was that I didn’t know anything about programming besides what I was taught and had to learn a lot of it by looking through the scripts of other games. While making this game i learned how to make multiple different sprites interact with each other and control each other.
Tatiana Nineht Ariza is a very stylish, real, and free spirited person. She’s a freshie at CAT High School. Out of her academic environment she particularly enjoys being with friends and family, boxing, dancing, WWE, playing video games, going to Best Buy, and listening to music. She loves to play the Sims series, Need For Speed series, WWE series, Dynesty Warriors series, and playing on the kinect. This was her first time using scratch, though she took three years of digital media class. When she grows up she’d like to work as a masseuse, music video dancer, or own her own salon and spa. She currently has a 3.5 GPA and looks forward to making more art in the future.
Welding Aces
The objective of this video game is to compete three mini challenges and complete your goal. To play the game your character must pick a look, pick a goal, and their mini challenges. If your character receives a bad score then you have to redo it. My idea from this game came from the video games that I play. In order to create this game I had to use scratch and painting tools. Some challenges I had were finishing scenes and creating new sprites.
Shaye Hong
Shaye Hong is a 7th grader at AP Giannini who tries to be herself in all situations. In addition to playing piano, she also likes to draw a lot. Her and her sisters favorite games are one from the Mario Bros seriesand she likes playing = video games made by other people her own age. This class is Shaye’s first experience with video game production. Shaye hopes to use art to show people how she thinks. Shaye has just recently graduated the 6th grade with a 4.0 GPA.
Shaye’s Life The Video Game
The goal of this game is to do different tasks or solve problems within a certain amount of time. In order to play you will be given a scenario and you must choose an answer that you think will take the least amount of time. My idea for this game came from my normal daily challenge of getting everything done. The most challenging part of making this game was learning how to program the scripts. In making this game I learned how to program video games.
Brienne Hong’s Artist Bio
Brienne Hong is a soon to be 9th grade at Lowell High School who likes to make visual art. Not only does Brienne enjoy spending her time on her computer, she also spends quite a bit of time practicing cello. She appreciates video games for their ability to transform your ever day reality. This class is Brienne’s first exposure to programming, however she has previous experience with digital graphic design. She looks forward to starting high school and expressing her own life through art.
Brienne’s Life the Video Game
The objective of this game is to complete a collection of mini games. In order to play you must follow the directions of each level. You win by finishing all of the mini games. My idea for this game came from different things I do in my everday life, such as going to school, and different goals I have, such as getting a job. The most challenging part of making this game was getting use to programming and learning how to use the Scratch scripts. In the process of developing this game I learned how to use Scratch and how video games are made.
Kim McDaniel-Richardson
Kim McDaniel-Richardson is a very talented thinker, she’s also a poet and photographer. Kim has so many talent’s she sometimes forget to apply them. Ms. Richardson is a high school graduate while attending collage. Kim is a unique, fun, down to earth young adult that loves to speak her mind; mind you she had no experience in game making , but seem’s to be doing very well in this class.
