Computer science major launches Game Development Workshop

Jason Farnsworth ’26 and Greg Wietrzykowski ’26 during one of Randolph’s Game Development Workshops. 

After taking Randolph’s new Game Development course this fall, Jason Farnsworth ’26 didn’t want the experience to end. 

So the computer science major set out to create opportunities for more students.

“I’d met multiple students through the SUPER program each year who expressed interest in working on video games, so I wanted to create a space to give them hands-on experience, which is crucial in the game development field,” he said. 

Farnsworth approached computer science professor Brad Spendlove, who taught the class, about creating a club. Eventually, they settled on a series of weekly workshops, led by Farnsworth and open to the entire campus community. 

“Many computer science majors are initially interested in the major because they want to make their own games,” Spendlove said. “The Game Development class will only be offered every other year, so in the meantime, the workshops can provide a place for students to learn about and practice game development. It is a more relaxed and social setting than a classroom, and interested students with any degree of programming knowledge can learn together.” 

Farnsworth held the first workshop during Session 2. It’s now become a weekly event, where he presents about an aspect of game design before students have time to work on their own projects. 

“I introduce important topics like the iterative game development process, questions to ask when you’re conceptualizing a game, and feature creep, among other things,” Farnsworth said. “My main goal is exposing them to these ideas as things to keep in mind when making their game. After the presentation, students are free to work on their own projects or just stay to talk and possibly help other students. Recently, someone who came to listen agreed to help a student on a rhythm section for their game.”

This week, they will hold a Workshop Showcase Seminar during the regular meeting time: 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in Main 139. Students will present the projects they’ve worked on throughout the session. 

After that, meetings will continue every Thursday—same time, same place—and are open to students of every skill level. 

“Working on personal programming projects is a great way to improve computer science skills, and I hope the workshop gives students a dedicated time and place to work on a fun project,” Spendlove said. “It’s a very casual, student-led, conversational setting. If you don’t know how to write any code, we’ll be happy to show you the ropes. Or you can just come to chat and make friends.”

For more information about the workshops, visit https://sites.google.com/randolphcollege.edu/randolph-vg-workshop/home.