All I remember of my time spent in the Boy Scouts was 18 mile hikes, and trying to remember how to tie those damn knots. Now they’re finally giving merit badges for something cool! The Boy Scouts of America today announced their plans to offer a merit badge for game design.
The youth organization has spent two years working with volunteers in the game industry to craft the program. Scouts face few limits in choosing the type of game they’d like to pursue: card, board, and dice games are on the table, and yes, they’ll even be able to design a smartphone app.
Participants won’t be required to actually know how to program, instead they’ll be required to put their ideas in a “design notebook.” The scouts will come up with an intial concept, and then will need to keep adding to the notes on the game based on testing and feedback they receive from others.
Earning the badge will require scouts to analyze games they already play on their devices, describing the merits and aspects of each game. In what sounds like an effort to keep future lawsuits to a minimum for budding programmers, the program will also teach them about “the significance of intellectual property” in the game industry.
The organization plans to share more about the program at the upcoming SXSW Gaming Expo in Austin.
