The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Engaging students
Success Academy students learn video game development
Success Academy students are learning the ins and outs of video game creation thanks to the instruction of a real-life developer.
Zac Pierce, lead developer of Sudden Event Studios, teaches video game development to students of Success Academy, a program for students from grades 7 to 10 in the Willoughby-Eastlake Schools. The video game students learn a whole host of development skills, including animation, design and coding.
“Teaching is just getting kids engaged,” Pierce said. “It’s trying to find something that they want to invest in.
“Hopefully games are a way we can bring kids in, we can engage them and at the same time, provide them with a lot of different opportunities.”
He mentioned that one of his students discovered, through the class, that he wants to pursue animation. Another decided that he liked creating 3D art.
“(User) experience is what I love,” Pierce said. “But for some of these kids, they’re going to love the programming, they’re going to love the colors, the sounds.”
Pierce’s company, Sudden Event Studios, is currently set to release a new 3D game that he has been working on for the past few years. He said that the game, called BOMBFEST, will roll out on Jan. 31 on the platform Steam.
“I stream live for two hours every weekday so people can see me work on it and ask questions live, which is a lot of fun, I think,” Pierce said. “People come in; they can ask questions. I love talking about games and how to make them. So if someone is like ‘how do you get started,’ I’ll take 10 minutes to talk (about) how to get started, every time. Because it’s fun. That’s why I do this class. I want to inspire people to take ideas and work on them in practical and wise ways.”
Deanna Elsing, coordinator of the Northern Career Institute, reached out to Pierce with the teaching opportunity sometime in the fall of last year, after Pierce’s friend had connected the two. They pulled students who were interested in the class and had 25 of them sit in on one session.
“Out of the 25 students, 23 self-selected that they wanted to go back,” Elsing said. “I’m not saying that I think those 23 kids are going to find themselves in a career that deals with video games, but even if one of them does and we were able to help a student find their passion on a future career choice in middle school, how cool is that?”
She highlighted that the academy focuses on the fact that college is not a pathway for everyone.
“At Success Academy, what we’re really trying to do is hone in on their skills that would allow them to find a career that didn’t need an immediate college education,” Elsing said.
Concerning the academy and its surrounding community, Elsing added that there is a lot of behind-thescenes kindness and community.
“We’re trying to teach our students that: yes, if you need it, you’re going to receive, absolutely,” she said. “But there is such a power in giving back...”