I don't consider myself a developer at all and I created a game in under 5 minutes with
Sketch Nation Studio! This iPad or iPhone app walks you through the steps of creating a simple or more advanced game. When creating your app, you can draw your own characters, props, and backgrounds on the screen as you go, or you can can import images by taking a photo with the camera. Beginning developers can create games in which characters jump up platforms, jump down platforms, jump across platforms, run across the screen, or fly across the screen. Yes, those are the only choices, but you can be very imaginative within those parameters, I assure you!
Today's students are so creative, I know that they would be engaged using this app to create games. In the classroom, game development can be used to teach cause and effect and problem solving. Students can also create games based on curricular topics.
If students create accounts, they can share games among one other. It is even possible that if a great game is created, it could be sold in the iTunes App Store!
