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By Ronald Gordon
We recently finished one of the first Playing with Purpose programs led by yours truly at the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology. I had a blast getting to know our class of middle schoolers throughout our 10-week program. So many of them had deep opinions about the games they’d played and even more of them had enthralling ideas when it came to thinking of a game they’d want to make themselves.
It’s always an exciting time at the end of the program. Everyone’s work is judged by our Critics Circle members, and they’re ranked based on their performance. The two most gifted writers get to take home wonderful bits of gaming tech, this time around being a brand new Nintendo Switch and a beautiful Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming laptop.
The mood of the room was tense, I could tell that everyone wanted to win something but there were only two who had done the absolute best – Franky and Bryce. After writing about the newest sports game FC 26 and sharing a New York based superhero tale akin to Spider-Man, Franky took home the Nintendo Switch. He was ecstatic, showing it off to his sister, who was in the room, and thanking the Circle for the prize.
Our big winner of the whole ten week class was Bryce. He was so shocked he barely even reacted until the laptop was in his hands. Not only did he write a heartfelt original fantasy story for his narrative, he also delivered an impactful and informative review of Ark: Survival Evolved that sent judges into a landscape full of thriving prehistoric life.
Both Bryce and Franky have done amazing work, and I was proud to be able to congratulate them and watch the smiles on their faces as they accepted their prizes. I hope this whole class continues to do their best work, remembering that games aren’t just fun to play. They can also be an amazingly insightful experience when you take the time to analyze them as they Play With Purpose.
Ronald Gordon is a New York Videogame Critics Circle Member and Mentor. He was the first of our writers – or any intern anywhere – to complete an internship at Rockstar Games.
