Web Games to Change the World
Web Game Making Club | An Open Project Spotlight
Mick Chesterman (@mickfuzz) works at the Manchester Metropolitan University and brings as many open practices as he can to the EdLab.org.uk programme. Mick was selected to join our current round of Mozilla Open Leaders with his project, Web Game Making Club.
I interviewed Mick to learn more about Web Game Making Club and how you can help.
What is Web Game Making Club?
We want to make Web Games to Change the World. This project aims to be a network of people to support issue-based, computer club activities to make games. Together we are creating a hub of resources to help this happen.
Why did you start Web Game Making Club?
I loved the Webmaker project that Mozilla promoted using easy to use tools like the Thimble code playground to make it easy for learners to get started using code to express their ideas.
I think that JavaScript games (especially using Phaser) in the browser can be very powerful as a code based game making environment for novice coders.
How do games teach participants about Internet Health?
Participants learn about open source technologies, open licences and collaborative production through their skins. The club is a way of picking up some fantastic practices and access to a family of free software tools whilst having fun with your friends. It teaches the message that you can be the Internet that you want to see.
What are you most proud of accomplishing at MozFest?
MozFest was a great opportunity to help focus the message of the Web Game Making Club. There are a lot of chances to take in inspiring projects and this helps to sharpen how you present your ideas.
How has your project been impacted by Mozilla Open Leaders?
The process of creating paths into the project has been the greatest impact of the the Leaders programme. It is one thing to invite participation but another to do the work to break down problems into manageable chunks for other to take on. The step by step processes for doing this have been excellent and you can see the impact of that at the project’s GitHub page here:
How can others help you continue the work on Web Game Making Club?
We would love facilitators to try out the tools and activities we are working on and help us create resources. You can find out more on our project page.
Right now we really need volunteer coders and testers to translate existing HTML5 game tutorials into remixable, entry level sample games in Mozilla Thimble. There are some examples here and a call for action here.
We are also working on modular code examples to populate a gallery of game mechanics in the Phaser JS framework. This will help our Club learners to be able to pick different aspects of their game play to work on. There is a starting collection here and a way to contribute here.
What meme or gif best represents your project?
Mozilla Open Leaders offers mentorship and training on working open. Join a cohort of project leads fueling the Internet Health movement. Receive mentorship and training through the Mozilla community in this 14-week online program on working open. Apply today!
