Using Roblox and Virtual Reality to Teach Basic Game Development

Description

• Difficulty Level: Intermediate
  
• Target Audience: Middle School and Up
  
• Duration of workshop: Approximately 1 Hour
  
• Needed Materials: VR Headset, Computer with Internet Connection, Roblox Studio.
  
• Using Virtual Reality and Roblox Studio, the aim of this project is to garner an increased interest in the video game development field and STEM by attenuating the stigma of difficulty surrounding both programming and video game development as a whole.
  
• Roblox Studio is a game development engine which allows you to build and program your own game. Throughout our workshop, students learn simple coding and 3D object manipulation.

Commercial Video

Click the image below to watch a 30 second commercial for the project

Team

(Left: Sean Nolan, Middle: Ronoquade Lawrence, Right: Red Godana)

• Red Godana
• Ronoquade Lawrence
• Sean Nolan

Advisors

• Dr. Anca Doloc Mihu
  
• Dr. Cindy Robertson
  

Publications

1. Red Godana, Ronoquade Lawrence, Sean Nolan, Anca Doloc-Mihu, Cindy Robertson. "Using Roblox and VR to Inspire Game Development Skills and STEM Interest", Consortium for Computing. Sciences in Colleges: Southeastern Region (CCSC:SE), November 4-5, 2023, Conway, SC
2. Red Godana, Ronoquade Lawrence, Sean Nolan, Anca Doloc-Mihu, Cindy Robertson. "Using Roblox and VR to Inspire Game Development Skills and STEM Interest", CREATE Symposium, Nov 30, 2023, Georgia Gwinnett College.

Outreach Activities

1. Super Saturday Series (S3), October 28, 2023, Georgia Gwinnett College – workshop demo for middle and high school students to promote IT and STEM career
2. Tap Expo, Oct 10, 2023, Georgia Gwinnett College – workshop demo to promote IT field and the TAP program to college students
3. Classroom Workshops on Oct 24, Nov 14, and Nov 16, 2023: workshop demo to 1001 level IT students at GGC, to spark interests in IT, ITEC major opportunities, and the Game Development field
4. Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC), Nov 3rd-4th, 2023, CCU: Poster presentation of project research results.

Similar Projects

Technology

This project uses the Meta Quest 2 Viral Reality headset for demos and a computer with Roblox Studio installed on it for the workshops.

Roblox Studio
- Roblox Studio is a free program that is used to create games and virtual worlds on the Roblox platform.
- Download for free at https://create.roblox.com/

Meta Quest 2

• The Meta Quest 2 is a virtual reality headset used to run various games including Roblox.
  
• Purchase at https://www.meta.com/quest/products/quest-2/

Project Setup/Installation

Installing Roblox Studio

For instructions on how to install Roblox Studio, please use this pdf file Installing Roblox Studio or watch this short video Install Roblox Video

Creating a Roblox Account

For instructions on how to create a Roblox account, please use this pdf file Creating Roblox Account or watch this short video Creating Roblox Account Video

Downloading our Workshop File

For instructions on how to download our workshop file, please use the pdf file Downloading Workshop File or watch this short video Downloading Workshop File Video

Project Demo

Click on the image below to watch a 1-minute video demoing the project in VR MetaQuest.

Workshop Instructions

For instructions on how to use our workshop file, please use the pdf file Roblox Workshop Walkthrough.

Click the image below to watch Roblox Workshop Walkthrough Video:

Click the image below to watch Workshop Code Walkthrough Video:

Advanced Instructions

For instructions on how to use our advanced workshop file, please use the pdf file Roblox Advanced Workshop Walkthrough.

Click the image below to watch the Advanced Roblox Workshop Walkthrough Video: