Frequently Asked Questions

With online education so readily available, there are many ways to learn how to be a productive creator. KidsCreate differentiates itself with an emphasis on creativity, video game development, and the student-teacher relationship. We guide your child to a place where they can choose their own path. We establish a playful, one-on-one rapport. We focus their efforts on hands-on learning, with visible results.

Instead of fighting for less screen time, we advocate for better screen time. In the long run, the goal is for your child to choose creation over consumption more and more often.

Yes. We encourage overlapping learning paths and look for opportunities to incorporate school subjects.

We recommend starting with an hour or two of instruction per week. We ask that your child spend at least the same amount of time on their own, outside of class. If they don’t genuinely want to spend their time working on their project, we should change something.

No. Modern game development can be code-light. We always start with basic programming because it will allow your child to make their own creations independently, but we welcome the opportunity for your child to specialize or to collaborate with other students as their learning progresses.

We always start with games. They have clear outcomes, keep the instruction fun and offer so many skill paths. But more advanced students may branch out to related projects such as website development, data science or product design.

A standard computer and an internet connection are all that’s needed to get started. We’ll guide you through any software installations needed.

It’s hard to beat the convenience of online, for both students and instructors. But in-person classes do make it easier to detect how your child is feeling and to develop a rapport. In-person also makes it easier to point at things on the screen and troubleshoot technical issues. Keep in mind that our in-person service area is the California East Bay, bounded by Richmond, Crockett, Lafayette and Berkeley.

We highly recommend taking advantage of group instruction. This will enable your child to take on bigger projects and potentially specialize in one area of game development. Your child will learn how to work as a team and practice more of professional a game development workflow.

Generative AI tools can create art, music, stories, code and even whole games. Kids have no qualms about using them. At some point in the future, the output of these tools may even surpass that of the best humans. What will not change is your child’s need to know what constitutes good quality and how to best use the tools for their own ends. KidsCreate students are welcome to ask AI tools for answers first. We help them understand what the AI answers really mean and build the knowledge to answer them on their own.

Usually, Jeff Ettenhofer, head instructor. Students interested in specialized topics may be matched with other specialists. We adapt to you child’s needs.

Maybe, let’s talk.