It’s been a long while since PODS Game Design began back in 2015. We’ve helped hundreds of kids get into video game design, coding, and programming, all while doing so with a huge amount of creativity. We hope that our students will continue to pursue this subject and create great things.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that PODS Game Design will no longer be offering classes in video game design. We would like to thank everyone who helped us out along the way and everyone who enjoyed making their own game!

As with many small businesses, the Coronavirus hit PODS Game Design pretty hard. However, we feel that we are at a point to start offering classes once again. We are in the planning phase for our Summer 2022 class offerings. By the end of January, we should have a pretty solid idea of what our class roster will look like for the summer.

PODS Game Design is excited to offer video game design classes through College for Kids and Teens this summer at Minnesota State University Moorhead!

These classes will run Monday-Thursday on the weeks of June 7-10, June 14-17, and July 19-22. There will be several Beginner level classes to get you started on video game design, as well as two offerings of advanced classes! Please check out the schedule for the full list!

Want to register? Check out MSUM’s page for College for Kids and Teens here!

We are exploring opportunities and methods to add new classes to our schedule!

It’s been an interesting few weeks for all of us across the world with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here at PODS Game Design, we’re staying safe and secure. With the closing of public schools in Minnesota and North Dakota, we have ended our Spring season early.

It’s impossible to know how long the United States will be affected by the pandemic. PODS Game Design will follow the necessary guidelines for social distancing and not assembling in groups of certain sizes.

We are also looking at our Summer season quite closely. We have a large number of summer camps, classes, and workshops currently scheduled with the West Fargo Park District, Moorhead Community Education, College for Kids and Teens, Hawley Community Education. Our Turtle Mountain Teen Arts and Writing Workshop is in the process of being scheduled and we are pleased to announce new camps that will be offered with Full STEAM Ahead in Minot, ND. We will update our summer schedule as necessary with any cancellations or postponements due to COVID-19.

We at PODS Game Design hope you are staying safe and secure during these trying times. We look forward to the day that we can get together once again and make some video games!

It’s 2020! Spring is almost here! It may not seem like it when you look out the window, but it’s coming! And so are PODS Game Design classes! We took a break in Fall 2019, but we’re back and we’ve got some excellent classes!

For one, we’re hosting several Saturday classes in Detroit Lakes! Starting on January 25th, we have Donut Invaders! This is followed by Mouse Maze on February 29th and Destructo-Ball on March 28!

We’ve also got our Creating Video Game classes at each of the elementary schools in Moorhead, as well as at Horizon Middle School!

We’ve also got the Creating Video Game classes at two elementary schools in Fargo! If you go to Eagles or Bennett, look for our classes!

In our classes, we’ll show you how to build the game, then we let your creativity take over. You want to make your hero a cat? Sure! Want your home to be surrounded by volcanoes, just because? Why not! Perhaps your quest is to defeat an ancient evil too great and terrible to even utter their horrifying name? You bet! We’ll show you how to make it, then YOU do what YOU want! What could be better than that?

We had a great summer of PODS Game Design classes! From Belcourt, ND to Hawley, MN we’ve helped 132 kids learn to develop their own games! That’s 132 games that didn’t exist at the start of the summer. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make this summer so awesome!

So, onto the Fall! We’re going to take a short hiatus so that PODS Game Design’s lead instructor, Dave Binkard, can focus on his career as a college instructor. Meanwhile, we’re working on our Spring/Summer 2020 schedule, particularly our after-school classes. If you want PODS classes at YOUR school or community, let us know at podsgamedesign@gmail.com!

See you in Spring 2020!

Summer 2019 is fast approaching! And so are our Video Game Design Camps!

This year, we’re holding our Video Game Design classes at the following places. Click on the links to go to the registration pages!

• Moorhead Community Education
  • Moorhead High School (MAP)
• West Fargo Park District
  • Rustad Recreation Center (MAP)
• College for Kids and Teens (Weeks 1, 2, & 4)
  • MSUM (MAP)
• Hawley Commnuity Education, Hawley, MN (Registration available soon!)
  • Location Coming Soon!
• Breckenridge Community Education, Breckenridge, MN (Registration available soon!)
  • Location Coming Soon!
• Turtle Mountain Video Game Design Workshop, Belcourt, ND
  • Turtle Mountain Community High School

Sign up today and join us for a summer of video game awesomeness! Check out the links above or our schedule page to see when classes will be held!

PODS Game Design is based in Fargo, North Dakota. Recently, Fargo has been in the news for bone-chilling temperatures. On January 30th, it was well into the -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Add on some wind chill and you’ve got frostbite waiting to happen in mere minutes.

Everyone’s ready for summer to hit. When the snow melts, when the grass turns green, when the birds start singing again, when you can go outside with shorts and a t-shirt instead of a coat and boots, and when you can roast marshmallows over a fire.

Ah… those days… Remember those days?

That’s why we’re excited to announce our

SPRING BREAK VIDEO GAME DESIGN CAMP!

Fargo Public Schools has Spring Break scheduled for March 11 – 15. And what could be better for your week off from school than a taste of summer camp? This class will be held from March 11 – 15 at 11:00 – 2:00 each day. We’ve partnered with REPLAY GAMES to hold this camp, so the gamer in your family can come for the game design camp and stay for the arcade collection of over 4300 games!

Learn more about our camps here!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today by clicking here and get a taste of summer this spring!

Questions? Email us at podsgamedesign@gmail.com!

 

 

PODS Game Design has launched the new Spring 2019 game design classes!

We’ve got some awesome classes at Horizon Middle School and Moorhead High School in Moorhead, as well as more classes at everyone’s favorite arcade, Replay Games!

Check out our Spring lineup in our spring brochure!

Check out our classes with Moorhead Community Education HERE.

Check out our classes with Replay Games HERE.

 

We’ve got more in store for Spring 2019. This is just the beginning!

PODS Game Design and Replay Games are teaming up to offer game design classes on Saturday mornings this fall!

Not only that, but we’re premiering a new type of class – the Advanced One Day class. These classes are specially made for students who have completed a Beginner level class and/or are working on their own project!

See the full schedule here. Each class held at Replay Games will be held on Saturday mornings from 10:00 – 12:00

September 15 – October 13 – Beginner Class

November 3 – Advanced One Day – Evil Enemies!

November 10 – Advanced One Day – Dangerous Dungeons!

November 17 – Advanced One Day – Fantastic Fishing!

December 1 – Advanced One Day – Ice Slider!

Click on any of them for the registration page!

And what’s more, in celebration of our partnership with Replay Games, we’re offering a contest on Facebook! The winner gets the Beginner class AND one Advanced One Day class for FREE to give to someone of their choosing! 

To participate, simply LIKE THIS POST on the PODS Game Design Facebook page and TAG SOMEONE in a COMMENT! Your name will then be entered into the drawing! 

On September 10th, we will DRAW the winner live on Facebook! You have until then to participate! What could be better than that?!

(Terms & Conditions for contest: The contest is for the upcoming Beginner level class at Replay Games starting September 8th and for the Advanced One Day classes held in November and December. The classes will only be held if enrollment meets a certain threshold, otherwise the award will be applicable to an equivalent upcoming class at Replay Games to be held at a later date. Email podsgamedesign@gmail.com with questions.)