SEATTLE -- March 28, 2007 - Giant Campus, a recognized national leader in youth technology summer programming, announced today two new courses using Microsoft's XNA software -- a tool which allows you to create a game from scratch and then publish it to an Xbox. Giant Campus will be using the Xbox 360s in its national Cybercamps program.
One course, 3D Game Creation focuses on moving from a simple 2D game and putting that onto an Xbox. The game is a side-scroller custom to Cybercamps with boats, rivers, water, explosions, and particle effects. "It's actually a two step process to get the game on an Xbox," says James Peters, director of content development for Giant Campus. "Kids will use Torque Game Builder, and then convert it with Torque X into an XNA or visual studio (c-sharp) Xbox solution." Once the game is on the Xbox, it can be played using the standard Xbox controllers.
The other course, Advanced 3D Game Creation, approaches the Xbox from a slightly different angle. This is for the kids who are beginning programmers and really want to learn programming. They use XNA Studio natively for the Xbox without the Torque converter. This course dives directly into XNA Game Studio but does it in such a way that it remains accessible to summer program participants.
"The two new courses are really interesting and fun," says James Peters, director of content development for Giant Campus. "These are the platforms that are being used and more and more in game development, and people are gravitating to them. If the future of gaming is on consoles and not computers, these courses are an excellent introduction." Peters noted the courses teach script development, programming concepts, and tools that could lead to programming and even electrical engineering degrees.
Most of the instruction and education materials written today are at such a high level. The Giant Campus courses are written for the beginner, starting at the simple and building up from there. The course teaches youth how to render simple objects then move on to 3D animation in 3D space. Giant Campus even built a custom 3D game, Techno Heist, that youth get to mod.
The application of these courses goes beyond the classroom into the home, notes Min Seo, director of information technology at Giant Campus. "Even though there are thousands of computer game titles, the most universal are console games. An outcome of these courses is that it brings gaming into the family room. Now the entire family can play a game created by one of the kids on the family TV."
To play transferred games on the Xbox, users need an Xbox Live account. Microsoft offers two Live subscription levels. Silver membership is free and the Gold level, which includes cross-platform play and other multiplayer features, costs about $50 per year. Microsoft's online gaming service has been a key selling point for its Xbox 360 video game console, which was released in November 2005 and competes with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii for top billing in the $30 billion global video game market.
About Giant Campus, Inc.
For more than a decade, Giant Campus has combined serious fun with technology education and been considered a national leader in the industry. Independent research of Giant Campus' teaching methods and curriculum show up to a 90% increase in standardized test scores for students. While youth attend Giant Campus' fun programs, they learn skills that help them in school and future careers. With more than one million hours of instruction with youth, Giant Campus programs continue to deliver what teens and parents want. Giant Campus can be found online at www.giantcampus.com/youth.