In today’s world, gaming is more than just a hobby—it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry with opportunities in design, programming, storytelling, and project management. At our school, Mr. Mrozewski’s (Mr. M) Gaming Sim Foundations class is preparing students to enter this exciting field by immersing them in a real-world game development environment.
Rather than just learning theory, students experience the full cycle of game development, mirroring the structure of a professional gaming environment. They work in teams, take on different roles, and follow a structured process to bring their gaming ideas to life.
A Day in Gaming Sim Foundations
Each morning, students begin with stand-ups—a daily meeting where teams discuss progress, roadblocks, and next steps to keep their projects moving forward. Just like in a real company, communication and collaboration are essential.
From there, they follow a structured game development pipeline, moving through each stage as they create their own unique games:
Design Phase – The foundation of any game. Students brainstorm the story, characters, setting, and core mission. They determine the mechanics and overall gameplay experience.
Prototype Phase – The concept comes to life. Teams build a basic version of their game to pitch to "investors"—in this case, other teachers—who provide feedback and help refine their ideas.
Alpha Phase – The real building begins! This is where coding, art, and sound start coming together as the first playable version takes shape.
Beta Phase – Time for testing! Students work to find and fix bugs, improve gameplay, and ensure everything runs smoothly.
Release Phase – The game is officially launched. Now, students get to see how their peers respond and gather final feedback.
Investing in the Future of the Program
The future of this course is brighter than ever. Mr. M envisions adding a dedicated server to give students even greater creative freedom, allowing them to build more complex and dynamic games. However, servers are expensive, so he’s turning to the gaming community itself to help fund these improvements or if you or someone you know is interested in helping let us know!
On March 10th, Mr. M is hosting a Super Smash Bros. Tournament for 7th-12th grade with a $5 entry fee. Players will compete for three levels of prizes, with the grand prize being a rare Pokémon card valued between $250-$500! The goal is to use proceeds from this and future competitions to upgrade classroom technology and eventually purchase a server that will open new possibilities for game development.
The Long-Term Vision
This isn’t just a one-year class—it’s designed to be a multi-year program that grows with students as they refine their skills. As they advance, they will have the opportunity to take Honors and AP-level gaming courses focused on coding.
By their senior year, students will have developed either a fully playable game or a concept — they can either choose to sell, showcase in a portfolio, or continue building in college. Whether they dream of becoming a game designer, programmer, artist, or project manager, this course gives them real-world experience that translates into the professional world.
Stay Tuned for the Final Product!
With students currently deep in development, we can’t wait to see the creative and innovative games they produce! Be sure to check back in May for a full showcase of their final projects and a glimpse into the next generation of game developers.
