Second Saturdays: Eyebeam
Feb 14, 2015
Artist Chloe Varelidi at the 2015 Eyebeam Annual Showcase, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
On Saturday, February 14, teens visited Eyebeam’s 2015 Annual Showcase in Dumbo, Brooklyn. At Eyebeam, artists who often have a strong focus on technology are invited to participate in a yearlong residency or fellowship program in which they are awarded a stipend to create their work. These artists use Eyebeam’s studio spaces and resources to work on a project which is then exhibited in the Annual Showcase.
Varelidi showing teens the Minicade, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
This Saturday we had the opportunity to work with two of the artists from the showcase, Chloe Varelidi and Atul Varma, to learn about the world of game programming. For their contribution to the exhibition, they created a “minicade” which participants could use to play and program mini games.
Participants playing Ninja to get to know each other and get into the gaming mindset, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
Before starting the workshop, we played an icebreaker called Ninja, in which we had to channel our inner Ninja while making one move each turn to try and hit the person’s hand next to us, at the same time as they had one move to try and avoid being touched. Afterwards, we brainstormed about what we wanted our mini game to consist of, and then we quickly began the programming process. We paired up with other teens we had just met and began designing our own games or remixing already existing games. The most interesting part in my opinion was the programming itself, although I found learning how to code different aspects of the games, (such as moving the figures around the screen), quite difficult. It was interesting to build games, as they are something I’ve enjoyed my whole life. Then we gathered again and checked the games we created. Even if our games weren’t perfect, it was still nice to see the ideas we came up with.
Jejomar playing our mini games, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
At the end of the event, YI Leader Jejomar volunteered to try to beat all of our games!
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Participants learn about the different types of mini games from Varelidi and Varma’s minicade, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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YI Leaders create their own game, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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A participant plays a minicade game on a tablet, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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Participants play Ninja, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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Varelidi helps teach a participant how to code, February 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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By Janice, YI Leader