Press video interviews
Lindsay Ladeluca of NBC 10 interviews Doug Tepe about Tinker and Create's Digital Game Design course.
April 28, 2020
Lead instructor Doug Tepe discusses Tinker and Create's STEM courses with Roberta Saphire and Camille Barron of
Law, Your Money and You.
April 6, 2020
Etay Armon and Tinker and Create's lead instructor Doug Tepe have a conversation about STEM with Bob Hickey of Foxborough Central.
July 26, 2018
SHARON - For a short while Tuesday afternoon, students got a chance to do what most kids only dream of - play video games in the classroom. Those children - from the third through fifth grade - were taking part in a Heights-Elementary-based after-school class, intended to teach them the basics of digital game design. The class was run the company Tinker and Create, and offered through Sharon Community Education. Instructor Doug Tepe, a Sharon resident himself, said the six-week class would teach students about using the Unreal engine to create their own games. “Because it’s totally graphic-oriented it’s a good introduction to programming without getting into a language,” he said, adding that the class would help teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts in an entertaining way. “We’re sneaking (instruction) in as a fun diversion.”
Over the course of the program, Tepe said, the children would be creating a scavenger-hunt game. “Students often have great ideas, because they have no preconceptions about what a game is or is not,” he said. “I’ve seen all sorts of clever ideas come from students.” In the first session of the class, students discussed their favorite games and the aspects they share. Tepe told them about the various genres games fall into, and what defines those categories. “It’s to help them get to feel at ease,” Tepe said. During the class, students called out the games they enjoy playing - including such experiences as Roblox, Skyrim, Castle Crashers, Fortnite, Minecraft and Dunk Shot. Tepe had the children try out a number of games and asked them to sort them by genres and pick out their distinguishing characteristics.
Etay Armon, who co-founded Tinker and Create, said, although this session of the class was full, he hoped to be able to offer it again in the future. He said the company had previously offered another course through Sharon Community education, focused on digital comic book design. The class, he said, was held at the town’s East Elementary School.
Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-316-2809 or . For news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.