SHREVEPORT – Every teenager can identify with hunger pangs in the middle of the night and the journey to the kitchen for a snack.
But getting sucked into the underworld and having to fight their way back to the fridge?
That’s the storyline of one video game created in LaPixel Academy, a digital arts camp in which teenagers build their own video games.
Sixteen teenagers comprised six different design studios as they collaborated and competed in designing and animating their own 2-D video game.
“Students learned digital arts principles through video game design,” said Allen Garcie, an LSUS digital arts faculty member and director of the academy, which completed its ninth summer camp. “This camp is all about using creativity to solve problems, and everyone got to experience real-world situations in learning how to work as a team and the problems that can surface.”
The team of Aiden Zhao, Michael Okoh and Danielle Ogundeji created the path for hero Kalu to journey back to the kitchen.
All six games featured a central character (a hero) and various monsters and sprites culminating in a big boss, the last obstacle to winning the game.
Students employed Photoshop and GameMaker Studio to build everything from their 2-D environments, their characters and movements, and the integration of those elements into a playable game via coding.
All in a four-week timespan.
Students learned Photoshop and GameMaker Studio in the first two weeks, developing their own character and game ideas before pitching those ideas at the midway point of the camp.
Participants voted on the best games/ideas, and they formed studios to actually build and design those games.
“Desperation allowed for great efficiency at the end,” said Raphael Calvaresi, a team member who created the game “Next Stop” featuring hero Alcide and her attempt to diffuse a train hostage situation.
Teammate Imani Lodge chimed in, “Giving up seemed like a plausible option at one point, but we persevered.”
“I thought the story ideas and storylines were particularly good this year,” Garcie said. “We had some great graphics as well, but the challenge was for teams to realize their games needed much more than those graphics to function.
“There’s never enough time every year, so students learned first-hand about time management and how to find solutions in a time crunch.”
A geology student in Spain fought his way through enemy-filled mines to acquire precious gems in “Each Gem a Different Story.” Designers were Ethan Hill, Jourdan Hill and Daniel Ogundeji.
Arekas ventured to the afterlife to reunite with his pet rat in “Journey to Caspian.” Designers included Kinzlee Anne Koglin, Oscar Zheng, and Alan Jackson.
An accident at an Illinois factory was the setting for the game “Jesper & Co.” as the hero navigated drain pipes and numerous sprites to save the day. Game designers included Emmalie Taverner, Caleb James and Alex Jackson.
In a world where residents had their minds and bodies twisted by a demonic entity, this hero tried to avoid the same fate in “The Congregation of Flesh” by designers Jaxsen Nielsen and Cade Prescott.
In addition to Garcie, faculty member Vikki Hrody and LSUS students Keith Mills and Katelyn Davis assisted campers in the development process.
Registration for the 2026 LaPIXEL Academy will begin in the spring and is open to students 13-17. Applications are accepted at lapixelacademy.com.
The program is sponsored by LaPREP and is offered at no cost to the participants. LaPREP is a free math and science summer enrichment program at LSUS that’s funded by grants and generous sponsors.
