FAQ

A: Gamestar Mechanic is a game and community designed to teach kids the principles of game design and systems thinking in a highly engaging environment. It is designed for 7- to 14-year-olds but is open to everyone. We've included features in Gamestar that make it useful for kids playing the game on their own or with family members at home, as well as in moderated and educational settings. For more information about the features of Gamestar Mechanic and the learning theory behind it, please see the For Parents and For Teachers sections.

A: We have announced that Gamestar Mechanic will be coming to a close with the sunsetting of Flash at the end of 2020. In the meantime, we have made everything in Gamestar free to all users, so the following no longer applies.

Gamestar Mechanic includes a self-paced learning experience that uses game-based "Quests" to help youth learn how to design games while they build critical 21st century skills. Each Quest contains missions that challenge you to play, modify and design games to help you level up from player to designer. As you complete these missions, you earn items that you can use to make your own games.

Registering an account at Gamestar Mechanic is free and includes access to your first game design Quest, the ability to make and publish your own games, and access to the Gamestar Mechanic community.

"Addison's Complete Quest" is our full introduction to game design and is now available for a one-time cost of $19.95. This three-quest series includes the free Quest ("Addison Joins the League") and two additional Quests ("Addison Joins the Rougue" and "Dungeon of the Rogue"), where you'll explore diverse styles of game making and dive deeper into the practice of game design. Together these Quests include over 100 missions, the opportunity to earn over 130 items to use in your own games, and the ability to add your own art to your games through custom backgrounds.

We also offer custom "Sprite Packs" with prices that start at $1.99. These themed packs contain fun and powerful items like the ones you earn in the Quests. Sprite packs are fun ways to extend your game making capabilities and personalize your games.

Lastly, for those designers that would like to learn with real instructors and game pros, we offer an Online Learning Course for $249.

Exclusive Educational Package
$2 per student

Our Exclusive Educational Package includes both Addison's Complete Quest and special features for educators designed specifically to make the process of teaching with Gamestar Mechanic easier, such as the ability to track student progress and a library of assignable game design projects.

We really hope students will keep learning well after the class ends, so this package allows students to keep all the features of this premium package for as long as they choose to keep their Gamestar Mechanic accounts.

This pricing represents a 90% educational discount from the consumer price for Addison's Complete Quest and is available for use in any K-12 or higher educational institution, 501(c)(3) charitable organization, or homeschool setting.

Click here To learn more about getting started as a teacher with Gamestar Mechanic.

A: Gamestar Mechanic is a safe environment where kids can play, create and share. For more information on what we do to keep our community safe, please see our Rules of Conduct and Privacy Policy.

A: The games you play within the Quest and some of the games in Game Alley are made by the professional game designers who work on Gamestar Mechanic. But most of the games you'll find in Game Alley are made by users just like you who have played through the Quest, learned how to design games, earned sprites and made their own games in their Workshop.