At the end of the course you will have created a game by following my lead. I have chosen this specific game because it allows me to show you all the basic skills you need to know in order for you to be able to write other games on your own after the course is over. 

You will learn how to create players and enemies, and program them to move under keyboard control, or on their own. 

You will learn how to create objects to collect, how to fire bullets, create sound effects, create special effects such as explosions or smoke, design rooms or levels for your game, create secret cheat modes, secret doors and much more.

I will show you how you can showcase your games on an online marketplace with just a few clicks of the mouse and let you know where you can progress to after the course.

I have been a programmer since 1982 and have been running my own very successful software house since 1985. 

I am a qualified teacher in the UK. I specialise in computer skills, games design, and computer science.  I have been teaching computer subjects for over 30 years to students from primary through to university level, I have trained over 8000 computer science teachers in face to face classes in the UK through my own training company. 

I also work for two exam boards in the UK, OCR and AQA, where I deliver training to computing teachers. I also deliver regular webinars to update teachers on changes to computer science exams and procedures. I was the Computing Hub Leader for Lancashire, England, in charge of training computer science teachers for the National Centre for Computer Education, this is the government funded agency to upskill UK computing and computer science teachers.

I have been teaching games design for many years, and I was a beta tester for Gamemaker Studio 2 (used in the course) for a year prior to its release so I am more than familiar with the software. 

Homework Offered
After each class I will set a small list of things to try on your own at home before the next session. This will allow you to recap on what we learnt in that session. You will also be able to add new features to your game, or expand on what we learnt in that days class to take your learning to a deeper level. If you can't complete any part of the homework then no problem, I walk you through a solution at the start of the next session... nobody gets left behind.
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
Each learner will be able to self-assess by looking at the quality of the game they have written, and the ease at which they can add new features to it.  There will be options at the end to show their game to the rest of the class should they want to, and I will be able to see each learners screen at intervals to ensure they are keeping up with the work. I encourage all learners to show their families what they have created as we go along, to let their family play their game, to gain feedback from their families on what they like about their game and how it could be improved etc. Being able to show your game to someone helps greatly with the learning process.
Grades Offered