Are you interested in designing video games? Are you curious about what’s involved in developing games from concept to design? Ever wondered how to make a game stand out from the hundreds created every day?
All will be revealed at a very special one-off workshop aimed at children aged 10-12 years on Sunday September 30th in the Meyrick Hotel. Hosted by Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, the workshop is a fundraiser for Baboró’s annual festival. Now in its 22nd year, this year’s festival runs from October 15-21. All the money raised from this workshop will go towards supporting Baboró's access programme, which offers subsidies and supports to ensure access to the arts for all children, regardless of geographic, economic, physical, intellectual or cultural status.
Sponsored by SAP and supported by SAP volunteers, the workshop will be delivered by the award-winning team at Romero Games, based in Galway since 2015 when founders John and Brenda Romero relocated to Galway from Silicon Valley in California. The Romero team is the most experienced game development team in Ireland, bringing decades of experience in AAA, III, PC and console games.
The Romero games team are passionate about their craft and they believe in fostering a fun and vibrant environment where creativity can thrive. During the workshop, attendees will focus on the four pillars of games: design, art, code and audio. On the design side, Brenda Romero will explore what makes a game a game, and give attendees the building blocks to develop a game of their own. Moving on to art, Denman Rooke will discuss and demonstrate character and environmental drawing and work with participants to develop their own characters. Lastly, John Romero and Keith O’Conor will focus on code and add audio, showing participants how games come together in a live demonstration on stage. Volunteers from SAP will be on hand to assist with the workshop.
Many of those who started in the gaming industry started young, including husband and wife team John and Brenda Romero who began designing and programming games as children, both having entered the game industry at the ages of 15 and 11 respectively. Brenda Romero most recently won a BAFTA for her contribution to the global game industry. John Romero, a legend in the game industry, and co-creator of such titles as Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM and Quake has won well over 100 awards for his work.
Joining John and Brenda Romero for the workshop are Keith O’Conor, Chief Technical Officer and Technical Director, and Denman Rooke, Lead Artist, both at Romero Games. O’Conor is known for his work on Ubisoft’s Far Cry and Watch_Dogs series and is an expert in graphics programming. Rooke is an award-winning artist whose work has graced the covers of Pathfinder games and, most recently, Magic: The Gathering cards.
Baboró would like to thank SAP for sponsoring the event, and to acknowledge the in-kind support of Romero Games and The Meyrick Hotel in delivering and hosting the workshop.
For enquiries or to book the workshop please contact the Town Hall Theatre on 091 569 777 or book online here here. Early booking is advised as limited places are available.
Baboró presents Children’s Game Design Workshop
Sponsored by SAP, delivered by Romero Games and hosted by Baboró International Arts Festival for Children
Date: Sunday September 30th
Time: 12:30-5:30pm
Age suitability: 10-12 year olds
Venue: The Meyrick Hotel
Cost: €20, includes light snack
Please note: This workshop is for children only. Parent/guardian must accompany attendee to the registration desk

Children's Game Design Workshop
Published 28 August 2018