Game design program for youth needs computers to survive

The crunch is on for a fledgling game design program for Rexdale youth, which doesn’t have enough computers to launch next month as planned.

Non-profit Techsdale (TXDL) is aiming to teach underprivileged and diverse youth how to make video games, mobile apps, and websites and how to build electronics from scratch — all by the end of the summer.

But this week, just as organizers started their push for applications, they found the donated Macs they were planning to use can’t run the Unity software that’s essential to their work.

“The speed and storage space were huge factors,” said co-founder Andray Domise.

“Even though we want to be able to take computers in … they also have to be able to run the software for the kids to use.”

The program stemmed from a campaign promise Domise made — to create a youth program in Rexdale — when he ran against Rob Ford for a council seat in 2014.

“A lot of kids … they will go to the library and they’ll play computer games and they’ve got games on their phones,” Domise told CityNews.

“But I thought we need to create some programs that would teach young people to become producers of the games that they play, not just consumers.”

In the program, which will take place at Albion Library, the youth will split up into two or three groups and each have a role in building a game.  Professional game developer Arielle Grimes will teach them audio, design and coding and help mentor them throughout the process.

The pilot project at Humber College last year was a success, Domise said, and spots filled up two days after it was announced.

“We got kids who didn’t really have any knowledge of coding or design or anything, and then in 14 weeks, we were able to get them to produce full-fledged games,” he said.

A jewelry company has promised him three of the 15 computers the program needs, but Domise said judging from the pilot project, they could use even more.

“It’s 15 for now, but we would really love to have a program [with] 30 students per classroom,” he said.

Domise said he’s already seen the positive effect it’s had on youth — like a teen named Julian whose family came to Toronto as refugees from Colombia — and longer, 12-week programs are planned for the fall and winter.

“It became apparent to me when I ran for city council in 2014 that you don’t have to be an elected official to make a difference in the neighbourhood,” he said.

“I have a day job. I work a nine-to-five job just like anybody else. But I just work really, really hard to make sure that my community succeeds.”

To donate a computer to Techsdale, email 1up@txdl.ca. Donations are eligible for a tax credit.

Required specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K (3.3 GHz) or AMD Phenom II x4 940 (3.0 GHz)
RAM: 6 GB
OS: Windows 10, 64 Bit OS
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 (2 GB VRAM)
Hard drive space: 100 GB