JnoodleLIVE! update and projects I'd love to collaborate with you on!

Had a few hiccups with our premier webisode of JnoodleLIVE! last April 26th at 11:30 am PST.

but overall it was a good experience and we got some positive feedback.  

Most exciting was the reveal of Robin's secret challenge, i.e. Making a game about making a game!  Even though the premise of JnoodleLIVE! is to show potential game devs the process of team formation and problem solving in real time, I can't resist the urge to make plans for how my idea of such a game might work.  Robin is laying down the framework in Twine.

I'm making a dialog system in Fusion.

Fallon is preparing to leave for his EVERYDAY tour but he should be back joining our efforts in a few weeks.  We'll notify you of the next live stream and promise you that under the hood unscripted experience.  

My current FRONT BURNER Projects are

• JnoodleLIVE! with Robin and Fallon
• Game about making a game with Robin and Fallon
• Tau Aleph Adventure game (yearlong personal project)
• The Lost Rites ARG with Thomas Lafferty
• 3D Visualizer with Joe Jacobson (no relation :)
• ECOsalypsee game with a group from Mr Esler's environmental class
• Senior Project game dev mentor for Bryson Cardwell at CHS
• BlocksmithXR prep for a summer camp at Gizmo
• Advising some past students with their cryptocurrency ATM project

6 of the previous projects are ongoing but 3 are about to reach completion.  I had mentioned in an earlier post that I'd be talking about "projects I'd love to collaborate with you on", so with some front burners about to be freed up, who would like to collaborate on one of the following?

• Alternative UTOPIA Megagame like World Peace or Alliance : My Promo Video
• FIND A PROBLEM: DESIGN A SOLUTION database : Helper Slides
• Designing kiosks curriculum using Taleblazer and/or ARIS
• Counter misinformation: flat earth, CO2 is bad
• My most ambitious Dream! : A Local Space Camp Experience

I'm going to have to get an industrial stove with more front burners now :)  

Jnoodle LIVE?!

"Game development is more accessible than ever, but to many it is a quiet and abstract world. Perhaps it's the topic itself that needs de-mystifying? Let's take relatively-unknown, relatable game-devs into an unscripted podcast/roundtable discussion, documenting the process of project planning and execution. To top it off, let's make the platform a live-stream, where folks can feed us their questions about game dev experiences, weaknesses, and expertise."  - Fallon Braddy

My dear friend from New Zealand, Robin Hughes, is the culprit behind this brainchild adventure and what he is calling Jnoodle LIVE!  We have collaborated remotely over the years on some very exciting projects, some of which have yet to see the light of day, but all rich sources of learning.  Even if you are not a fan of game design, you'll want to watch just to hear that awesome Kiwi accent we all love.

Robin Hughes

Host & Producer from New Zealand

Fallon Braddy and I go waaaay back and honestly, he's a real life polymath. He also has a ton of streaming experience.  Many moons ago he was an amazing president of the after school game design club that I advised. Now, he tours the country composing and playing his own music, streams jams and let's plays, is a Fusion master, author, good friend and fellow collaborator.

Fallon Braddy

author, composer, musician

Currently, I participate in an indie dev small group with these characters,  meeting monthly via video chat to be safely accountable and encouraging to each other in year long personal projects of our own choosing.  As the group 'leader' I am also touching base with the other small group leaders as we attempt to spread the love and grow the small group model.  I'm guessing many more would love to join and benefit in this process but don't really know what to expect and might appreciate a peak behind the scenes to alleviate their concerns.

Scott Jacobson

game design teacher, rapid prototyper

I'm sure Robin and Fallon have their own reasons, but it is my hope that Jnoodle LIVE! will be a catalyst that gets you taking that first step and completing one of your passion projects within the loving embrace of a small group.

Once we work out the software choice pipeline kinks and do a few more practice sessions we'll let you know when we're ready.  To be notified please LIKE below or Follow HERE.


You'll get the link to the live feed and also a link to the Facebook video archive afterwards for those of you that can't make it.

FUTURE Guests we hope to have (but have yet to ask)...

• Thomas Henshell
• Chase of Bass
• Jay Tholen
• Chera Meredith
• Jeff Neet
• Neil Sauvageau
• Nick Depalo
• Justin Fox
• Jupiter Hadley
• Suggestions? Volunteers?

Back to the blogging...

It has been waaaaay too long since my last blog post here.           5 years!

If you are like me, you're already thinking that I'll be doing a few more entries over the course of the next few weeks and then give up on it again.  That would indeed fit the pattern of most bloggers.  I'm not afraid to create digital media. In fact, I spend several hours every day creating content for my students and interacting on my social media channels.  And I can't wait for my optical HUD implant.

I must admit that my original intentions for blogging may not have been pure; self promotion, validation, being an altruistic resource for others, keeping up with the Jones's.  Honestly,  every time I was composing a blog entry I felt I was wasting valuable energy that should have been used to design more innovative experiences for my students.  My writing style tends toward run on sentences and stream of consciousness so I cringe internally every time I click the publish button, worrying that the spelling/grammar police are just waiting to drag me down. I also love reading blogs regularly and maybe that has set the bar high enough to scare me off. BUT, after reading the book #InnovatorsMindset by @gcouros  I have cast such concerns aside.

My new motivations are still somewhat selfish. Now, it is the empowering effect of organizing and clarifying my thought processes that blogging has become for me.  Coupling that with my 'One Sentence' has given me a clear vision and path to making the rest of this year better for both my students and me and next year AMAZING!  Yes, I'll be working like crazy all summer. But it's the kind of work that excites and rejuvenates me! With that, here is a sneak peek of my upcoming blog topics!

• My One Sentence
• My sweet project challenges that unleash student creativity and innovation   
• Identity Day Prep
• Projects I'd love to collaborate with you on!
• Help! How do I foster continual project engagement? 
• VR for the masses using BlocksmithXR
• What I wish all these cool ed books I read would include

3...2...1... MMStorm LAUNCH!

Just went LIVE on TeachersPayTeachers & TheGameCrafter

Also purchased the full color deck so that I can show it in use and record a promotional video with the club as soon as school starts up in 2 weeks

Babies got back!

Settling on the new MMStorm card back design

Countdown to launch...

After careful consideration I have finally decided to make my brainstorming card game, working title: "Multimedia Storm", available for FREE to the Teachers Pay Teachers community! My original prototype (see right) is in the process of being completely revamped for multidisciplinary use.  I have commissioned my graphic artist son Tyler to create a much more consistent and professional look. The deck is being stripped down to 36 cards (9 Media, 9 Mechanic, 18 Mission) so that they will arrange better on the PDF sheet for FREE B/W self-printing and will maximize the value for the full color printed edition which will be available through TheGameCrafter.com.    Initially I had combined several card games into one to help my veteran game design students create their future projects. The "hand" they play had to consist of ONLY 1 MEDIA card + 1-4 of the other 2 card types (Mechanic, Mission). Any points earned over X amount would be used in an end of semester auction OR snack purchases OR perhaps traded among students... Here is an example of the NEW CO OP card: Countdown to Launch! More HERE soon!

The long of it...

I was born at Fairchild Air Force Base outside of Spokane, WA in 1962 and it wasn't until 1978 that I saw my first personal computer, a TRS-80 Model I with a whopping 8K of memory. It belonged to a buddy so I never actually got to use it. Later that summer my father, a night librarian at the local college, brought me to work with him where they had a TRS-80 Model II (with 16K RAM and a cassette tape drive!). The first game I played was called "Taipan" and it took about 15 minutes to load. Next to the computer was a manual on BASIC programming so it wasn't long before I had made a few games. The first was a text Psychiatrist, the next an ASCII Slot Machine, and later I made an impressive "3D" dungeon game with randomly generated dungeons, mazes and monsters --- all under 16 Kilobytes!

I immediately went to North Idaho College in 1980, right out of high school, and took about 20 credits of computer courses but because computers were so new I found I knew more than most the teachers and wasn't really challenged. There weren't that many exciting computer jobs at the time and I was having a difficult time deciding whether to go into programming or digital engineering. I switched my major from computers to physics education. I married the love of my life, Cherie, in 1983 and have 2 sons, Ryan and Tyler.  I graduated from the University of Idaho in 1990 earning a B.S. in Secondary Education with an emphasis in the physical sciences, mathematics and computers.

Currently I teach Make-It! Science, Introduction to Computer Technology, and Game Design at Lake City High School in Coeurd' Alene, Idaho AND Physical Science, Chemistry, and Game Design at the prestigious Richard McKenna Online Charter School out of Mountain Home, Idaho.

My hobbies include running an after school game design club and helping others rapidly prototype.