Hacking on games using Thimble and more! :D

[mozfest-bot]

[ UUID ] 7a8a64f5-c05e-47d9-b16c-f517298a0831

[ Session Name ] Hacking on games using Thimble and more! :D [ Primary Space ] Youth Zone

[ Submitter's Name ] Ryan Warsaw

[ Submitter's Github ] @ryanwarsaw

What will happen in your session?

Attendee's will spend the initial 30 minutes reviewing basic concepts, as well as good etiquette and how to safely and responsibly reverse-engineer and modify games for themselves! After that, we'll spend 60 minutes hacking on some pre-built demos to create some awesome experiences.

Changes to the demos (of which there are three) can be seen in real-time, we will be using open source tools such as Thimble, A-Frame, Voxel.js and more! As well as Minecraft for Pi. Each demo will range in sophistication, so that everyone regardless of programming experience can have a fun and enjoyable time.

What is the goal or outcome of your session?

The goal is not only to get people excited about programming & game development, but to also have the confidence to take their skills and create their own "mod" as commonly referred to by the game development community. Modifying games is a very rewarding experience, and very popular in games such as Minecraft.

If your session requires additional materials or electronic equipment, please outline your needs.

I would need access to a Projector that has either an HDMI, or Mini-Display connection port. I would also need temporary access to 10-15 computers (Pi Tops, Laptops, Tablets w/Keyboard, etc). As well as some paper & pencils.

Time needed

90 mins

[ryanwarsaw]

If anyone has questions related to this session submission please feel free to let me know.

Just a couple of clarifications;

Title

By using the term "hacking" what I'm referring to is the modification of games in a legal and ethical manner, as a way to understand how games work and learn some programming skills. This is very common in sand box games like Minecraft, where there are tens of thousands of these "mods".

Speaking to Minecraft specifically, they offer a version of the game specifically for Raspberry Pi and provide an API that individuals can use to openly and freely modify the game. These are the types of things you can expect from this session, as well as the Thimble component which of course is totally fine since all of the demos I'll be working on will be free for use, distributing, etc.

I debated the usage of the term when choosing a title, I narrowed it down between using the term "Hacking" and "Modding" and of the two I thought the first was going to have more relevance and more of a universal meaning, but I'm totally open to ideas for potential name changes!

Scalability

In addition to how I described scalability working with my session, I also wanted to detail what would happen in the scenario where more people show up than machines are available. Under this circumstance we'd start grouping people into teams selectively to ensure good experience for all attendees. If the age range skews lower than expected, we'd pair older kids with younger, etc.

Also in addition to this I expect that a minimum of two volunteers will be present, although not listed as facilitators to assist at any time should an issue arise or someone have a question.

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw this looks really good and solid. Can you clarify who your helpers will be and from where, will they also be teenagers or adults maybe from MDN :)?

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub Hey there. There a couple of factors that prevent me from being able to give you a definitive answer on who exactly will be available to volunteer, however the short list I have includes a mix of teenagers/adults and both people local in the UK area and from the US/Canada.

It includes volunteers and previous year session facilitators, as well as I'd hopefully like to see if there are some individuals from the MDN or Thimble team who'd like to volunteer. If necessary I can do some on the grounds recruiting to find additional people, but I don't expect it to be a problem.

Edit: If you want specific names I can provide them to you via email, I didn't want to publish them on Github out of respect for their privacy, cheers \o/.

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw fab thxs for the update

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw - We will accept your session and your session will be added to those that have been short listed for a Youth Led Youth Zone stipend award - Does NOT mean you will automatically get it though just to be clear :) Is that OK?

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub I understand -- that's great news! Please keep me posted as the stipend process continues, are you aware of any deadline for when individuals can expect a verdict in regards to it?

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw would you be traveling alone or with a parent/guardian?

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub My parents are okay with me traveling alone, however they'd be more comfortable if I had someone with me when going to & from Heathrow, and to the Festival itself. It doesn't have to be one of them, in past years I've gone with a fellow MoFo staff member, etc.

The concern isn't actually getting to London, it's just travel while in London. I usually fly out first thing in the morning so the commute is around 4 AM, and late night travel on Friday & Saturdays.

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw from your side I need you to talk internally with MoFo and MoCo about this in terms of how this will work out. I asked the question as I knew you are part of the internal mozilla community vs. our average teenager who will always come with a parent. I am not sure if under "MozFest" we can do a youth traveling alone, even if you do this for MoCo events... @Saallen can you please advise on this one please? As a local solution I will be staying at the hotel too so I could act as your person to and from the festival, but heathrow is a bit far for me to go pick you up as I have a then 10 year old too! :)

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub Just to clarify, my affiliation with Mozilla extends only to my membership of the core contributor team which is essentially just a volunteer with additional permissions. I'm not on payroll, under NDA or have access to internal communication tools (Slack, Email, etc).

In regards to the travel situation, if it's an issue of legal/liable matters, I'm happy to sign some waivers, etc. Alternatively, I can find someone to accompany me via travel. I opted-in for traveling alone because I feel 100% comfortable doing so, and I also know there aren't a lot of stipends so it didn't make sense to me to put the session down as needing two when I could do with one.

I wouldn't be concerned about the local travel situation, I can have a friend (over 18) take care of the Heathrow situation, and I usually go down to the festival with friends/staffers anyways. I appreciate the offer though, I'm sure logistics can be figured out if accepted.

[Saallen]

Hello @ryanwarsaw and @EPIKhub Ryan is an accomplished traveller and a session leader but for MozFest I would prefer Ryan if you travelled with your dad or a guardian. MozFest is a long weekend and while i know you are very capable of looking after yourself, I do think that it would be more comfortable for you with a co traveller. I have no doubt that you will be able to find co facilitators though if your session is accepted

[ryanwarsaw]

@Saallen Completely understandable, I'll need to see if it's possible for one of my parents to go with me (depends on vacation days, schedule, etc) and get back to you if this session is accepted.

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub Staff vote? Do I need to do anything further here?

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw no :)

[gbaman]

@ryanwarsaw just to confirm, this session can be run completely on Pis, right? (plus projector etc for presenting?)

[ryanwarsaw]

@gbaman I can modify the demo(s) to run completely on Raspberry Pis, ideally I'd like to have a bit of a mixture with some more powerful machines to run more complex demo(s).

[gbaman]

Unfortunately all we can guarantee is the Pis (may be Pi2s or Pi3s), but attendees may bring their own laptops. But, given most of the attendees to this session will be kids, I certainly wouldn't count on many laptops.

If needs be, we can provide a decent spec machine for the projector though maybe.

As well, can I check you have had a conversation with your parents, if one of them is able to attend the festival with you?

[ryanwarsaw]

@gbaman Not a problem, last year there was a gentleman from Microsoft that had a bunch of Surface books, if there is nothing like that this year then I'll work with what I've got.

The projector situation is fine, as long as I've got a connector as outlined above, I'll be able to hook my laptop up to it and that'll be more than enough to run the session.

My dad would be traveling with me this year, it is dependent on vacation day availability so the sooner we've got an update regarding stipend the better.

[gbaman]

Unfortunately Microsoft have not submitted any sessions this year, so the Surfaces won't be available this year.

[ryanwarsaw]

@gbaman Like I said, if nothing like that is present this year then I'm perfectly fine working with what's available to me.

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub Hey! I'm wondering if you've got a rough estimate on when I can expect to hear back on whether the travel stipend for this session was approved. I know you guys are working your tails off, however if I need to have my dad take me, he needs to schedule vacation time and that's going to be more challenging as we get closer to the event date.

Is it at all possible to get a verdict on this by around the 2nd or 3rd week of September?

[EPIKhub]

@ryanwarsaw - You have been confirmed as getting a Mozilla Stipend! Grats :) Can I have your dads name?

[ryanwarsaw]

@EPIKhub That's fantastic news! Sure, can we move this to email? Mine is me@ryanwarsaw.com, I'm also happy to email you as well. I'm also @ryanwse on Twitter if you'd prefer to use that instead.

[gbaman]

@ryanwarsaw to double check, this activity definitely runs fines on Pis, right (under Chromium or Firefox ESR)? Specificity make sure you test it down to Pi 2s if possible, we aren't 100% certain how many Pi 2s and Pi 3s we will be running with.

[ryanwarsaw]

@gbaman It should be fine, I've tested on some pretty limited specs with no problems, I'll have to do a test run the day before and work out any kinks, but I don't expect there to be a problem. I've made some adjustments to the session material already in this regard.

[Bila468]

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[Bila468]

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[Bila468]

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[hamza9e]

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