Last weekend, Pixel Arts held our 1st Youth Game Jam at the Portland Indie Speed Run. Co-hosted with the Portland Indie Game Squad and the University of Portland’s Department of Engineering, 11 youth between the ages of 9-17 threw themselves into experimenting and tinkering with game design.

Our amazing volunteer community provided kids hands-on learning projects with GameMaker and free, open source Gimp to make art assets.  Parents and kids expressed their thanks and appreciation, and we’d like to thank them for braving the stormy weather!

This isn’t the only opportunity for youth though! Next week, Design Week Portland arrives from October 7-12th.  We’re collaborating with PIGSquad again, this time to host a Twine Workshop and Twine Jam during a 4-day extravaganza we’re calling Stumpquest.  Our Twine events let you create interactive stories and fiction, including art, which the Portland Mercury described as a  “craft choose-your-own-adventure-style, text-based games.” Parents are welcome to stay while our mentors guide youth into making games, so enroll now for Stumpquest and get in on the fun.