In a high tech, well-lit room off the basement atrium, young boys to middle-aged women learned about video game design Thursday. As a part of their “Make it Digital” winter technology series, the Monroe County Public Library offered a “Make Your First Video Game” class, taught by IU alumni Will Emigh and Nathan Mishler.
The class covered basic video game design in the software program Unity, which is free at the library.
Emigh, Mishler and Ian Pottmeyer started their business, Studio Cypher, in 2005. They design games for children, museums and hospitals.
Most people working in tech navigate to the coasts, but Mishler said he doesn’t think that’s necessary. The three alumni are dedicated to keeping young game developer talent in Bloomington, Mishler said.
“The issue that people have in Bloomington, or the Midwest basically, is brain drain,” Mishler said. “We want to encourage people not just to start making games in Bloomington, but to stay.”
Growing talent can be supported through the library programs, said Jeannette Lehr, digital specialist at the Monroe County Public Library.
“We want to make sure that people know, for one, what we have here and how to learn these tools,” Lehr said. “This is free for the public, so people that may not have the opportunity to learn these kind of things because classes are really expensive.”
Studio Cypher also runs a monthly event at the library, Big Night, where Bloomington gamer developers share tips and ideas, Mishler said. These type of classes can expand the gamer development community.
“It’s small, but growing,” Mishler said. “Now anyone can make games, we like doing this because we like showing that anybody can start now and anybody can make games.”
