Students Collaborate to design video game

student collaboration

 Brian Tschantz (at the computer), Kathryn McKenna, and Bryce Schmidt are enjoying their experience of collaborating on the creation of a video game.

Two very different departments—creative writing and computer science—are teaming up to write and program a video game.

Creative writing students in the fiction writing class took on the project of designing and writing the story for the game, while computer science students are learning a program in which they will bring the writers’ games to life. 

“It has been a very stretching experience, but at the same time it has been a positive thing to be able to move out of the stereotypes of what a creative writing major is ‘supposed to’ do,” said sophomore Kathryn McKenna.

John Estes, assistant professor of English and the fiction course instructor, said the project was born out of a desire to demonstrate to students the wider applicability of good storytelling, beyond traditional literary fiction.

“We are surrounded by and shaped by stories of all kinds, of course,” Estes said, “and my hope was this assignment would challenge students to tell a compelling, character-driven story within a medium at once new and familiar. It’s been an instructive exercise in collaboration as well as an example to them of how various limitations can catalyse the creative process.”

Instructor for the computer science course is Adam Klemann, Support and Infrastructure Manager of Malone’s Information Technologies Department. 

“This interaction between the programming course and fiction writing students provides a great opportunity for students to learn not only how to program and to write, but also to collaborate and interact, bringing ideas to fruition together,” he said. “We get excited about projects like this. It is but one possibility when pursuing a liberal arts education like what Malone provides its students.” 

At the end of the semester, the students had the chance to play the games they wrote and designed. 

Creative Writing major Bryce Schmidt said he looks forward to more projects like this.

“Partnering with a class in a different major is an interesting and enriching experience, and I am excited to see where different creative fields can intertwine in the future,” said Schmidt.