The Girls Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Chapter has partnered with Women in Games International to design the requirements and curriculum required for a newly introduced patch: one for Game Design.
As part of the curriculum, they will not only learn how to design games, but also learn game programming by using a customized version of Gamestar Mechanic, a video game that teaches kids how to design their own games.
While this award is local to the Los Angeles Chapter for now, that could change in the future. Sheri Rubin, CEO of Design, Direct, Deliver and a member of WIGI’s steering committee, told NBC News, “Our plan is to start by working with the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles to introduce a local patch and once successful open it up to other councils where game developers are prevalent. We hope this can be accomplished over the next couple years.”
Given the attention brought to bear on sexism in the gaming and comics industries in the past year, one more program working to help close that gender gap is a welcome addition, and this project achieving status as a nationally recognized Merit Badge could give a significant boost to those efforts.
Link: Women in Games International
Salon.com: Girl Scouts introduce game design and coding curriculum
NBC News: Girl Scouts chapter to add video game patch
NBC News: Serious playtime: Boy Scouts introduce gaming merit badge
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