Project IT Girl

Project IT Girl

Project IT Girl is a Girlstart after-school program in Austin, Texas. The program consists of 45 high school girls (16 - 17 years old) who are learning how to use technology to make a difference in the world. The focus of the program in the 2007 - 2008 school year is educational games for One Laptop Per Child. During the Fall 2007 semester, IT Girls learn basic programming concepts, Python, and Pygame. Over 90% of the girls have no programming experience before this semester. Throughout the semester, the girls worked on a game based on litter prevention to practice using Python and Pygame (download the sample code). Each girl also designed a unique educational game (see the current game designs).

During the Spring 2008 semester, IT Girls are implementing their game designs using Python, Pygame, and the [Game_templates game templates]. At the end of the semester, the games will be made available to the OLPC community.

Watch their progress!

* Main project page: http://www.girlstart.org/itgirl/year-two.html
* Wiki for game designs and project management: http://itgirl.wikispot.org/
* SVN repository of games, templates, and code recipes: http://itgirl.dreamhosters.com/itgirlgames/

Art Needs

The IT Girls have 30 games in development that are in need of graphic art. They have been frustrated by the lack of attractive, professional art that is released under an open license.

Girl	Artists Involved	Character Needs	Object Needs	Background Needs
AlexC		Girl in workout clothes, boy in workout clothes, various men and women	Gym equipment (bench press, weights, pool), variety of foods and drinks, weight scale, plate, table	Living room, cafeteria, gym, judges’ room
AlexiR			Cars in different colors, wheatgrass, carrot, sugar cane, corn, gas station, biofuel station	Cities and rural areas (all along a highway)
AlyssaW				Natural sceneries, including trees, ponds, etc.
AveryB and MeganS			Cadaver (preferably both male and female images), individual organ images: heart, lungs, brain, liver, kidney
CarolineS			Different types of whales in different positions for moving, boat	Ocean
CeciliaP		Boy in school clothes, boy in graduation robe, security guard	Spray paint can	Plain concrete wall (for the back of a school)
DevanG		Boys and girls in various clothing	Paper, aluminum, plastic bottle, soda bottle, recycling bin, florescent light bulbs, regular light bulbs.	Landfill, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, living room, backyard
ElizabethA and MariselaR		Baseball player	Scoreboard	Baseball field
FrancesD		"bad guy"		Hospital building
GiselleF			Sad puppy, happy puppy, apple, cloud	Outdoors in a park with one large tree
GretchenP		Teacher, grocery store cashier, clothing store cashier	Loaf of Bread, Gallon of Milk, vegetables, Carton of Juice, Apple, Orange, Banana, Meat, Book, Desk, Blackboard, Pencil, Pen, Backpack, Notebook, Shirt, Pants, Shoes, Jacket, Couch, Table, Bed, Chair	A house, a school, a clothing store, and a grocery store on a road. Inside of the house, inside of the clothing store, inside of the school, inside of the grocery store
HannahL			Sink, cavities, soap, shampoo, coke bottle, symbol for strong bones (after drinking milk)
JessicaD			Frowns, smiles, rainbows, stormy clouds
JinAC				Classroom
JordanA
KatyM
KatieL
KaylaR
KelleyS
KortniL and SaraS
LeanaG
LindseyC
MegumiT
PatriciaH
SanjoliS
SaraDS
SohiniB
TandraH and VanessaW
ValerieC and BrittanyM
ZoeG and VictoriaV