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Programming with Ben [Continued] Ben Karasik STEP ’15 countries beyond entertainment? BK: I thought it would be creative to have different countries and use national backgrounds such as the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
ND: Is the game multi-player or single-player? BK: Single-player
ND: Does your game fall under certain genre? I know there are race car games, war games, ect? ND: You are kind of worldwide student, yourself. Can you BK: Yes, action and coin collecting. I tried to implement tell me about your background? familiar aspects of mainstream games so that people can BK: My mother, who is Russian, taught me to speak fluent easily understand how to play. Russian. I also lived in Switzerland and France before moving to New York. Because of this experience, I also speak conversational French. ND: What computer programs did you use to make this game? BK: We used Java and Game Maker’s Studios. The language of Java was the foundation for the game, which we incorporated into making the program. ND: How does that work? How do you integrate Java into the game? BK: It goes hand in hand. For example, if you want to use physics in the game, so that the character doesn’t blow away, there is a Java code for that. In incorporating the type of language used in Java, we were also able to look online as a resource for more information. ND: That’s amazing. I know Java is complex. Who was your instructor? Did you work with anyone? BK: Yes. Thankfully, you don’t have to “master” Java to incorporate the knowledge in the game. And you certainly can’t master Java in that little amount of time. Mr. Mota was the instructor and I was assisted by my group partners— Khurram Paravaz and Caleb Vargas— in the creation of the game. ND: Tell me about the process. How long did it take to make the game? BK: We worked on the game throughout the entire course. Earlier in the course, we worked with getting familiar with Java and looked at examples of how games are designed. We created an updated version of tic-tac-toe, for example, to see how video games are created and to grasp what people look for in a video game. In the latter part of the course we programmed our own game using the language of Java and the skills we learned from practice.
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“Programming in the STEP class opened me to the world of computer science.” -Ben Karasik
ND: Whether computer games are good or bad is a controversial debate. What side of the argument do you fall on? BK: It depends on what the game is and how people react to them. I noticed I would get mad when I played Call of Duty and I decided to stop playing it and I’ve chosen to play other games now. ND: Aside from inventing your own game, what did you take from this experience? BK: It opened me to the world of computer science. I feel as though computer science is definitely an area that I’m interested in. There are a wide range of teachers, like Mr. Mota, who are really passionate about what they do and I know I would be passionate about what I do in this field. After designing this game, I recognize that it’s extremely rewarding. 0
ASEP BIANNUAL