Julian Tashman is the new computer science teacher, and he has wanted to create his own video game ever since he was a kid. He was first inspired to make his own game after watching other people create intricate Mario levels growing up. 

However, this has changed over time. 

 Tashman said, “It started out a 3D platformer, then I switched to 2D.”  

He tried to make his dream game but realized how large of a project that would truly be. After many struggles, he eventually decided to lower his scope to something he could have done in six months.  

Rather than making a platformer, he went for something simpler and more manageable. He plans for it to be a top-down racing-game where the character has to dodge obstacles. Ever since then, he has been relearning the code in Game-Maker. 

“I just followed online tutorials to learn how to code,” Tashman said. 

But coding was only half the issue, as the art style of the video game was equally important. He has had the design for the game in mind ever since 9th grade. The design is supposed to be an animated character with a realistic background. 

He compared it to, “Those ‘Looney Tunes’ movies where it’s like the animated characters in the real world.” 

This combines both Tashman’s interest in cartoons and love of video games. One of his favorite hobbies is playing video games. His favorite video game growing up was Mario. 

“I was a huge Mario fanboy,” Tashman said. 

Now though, he plays games like Zelda Breath of the Wild or Team Fortress Two. 

While he does enjoy creating his game, it has been difficult. There were multiple times where he considered giving up. 

His advice for future game developers was, “It’s important to start small with your game.” 

Start with an arcade game, or something you can finish quickly as your first game. And, code is the foundation of any video game, you will have to learn it if you want to create your own. 

“Everything is a learning process, failure is just another way to learn, you just have to keep going,” Tashman said.