Brick Zone is creating a 5 minute performance that blends physical and digital Lego elements to excite and engage middle school students and demonstrate a technical innovation to broadcast TV. This is accomplished through the combination of an interactable island made in Unreal Editor for Fortnite, as well as a physical Lego set and filming area for live action elements. We are also leveraging the Entertainment Technology Center’s Outreach Extension and Engagement department with their experience in Lego-based initiatives.
Inspired by the work at CodeJoy, Brick Zone will be created a multi-player runner game where players are zombies chasing down a living human through a school in a comedic fashion. While this is going on, a live host will provide commentary and feedback while showing how the player’s actions in the digital world are mirrored to a real world set.
John Balash
Client
John Balash serves as the Director of Academic Outreach, Extension, and Engagement at the Entertainment Technology Center and the Head of Partnerships at the Center for Transformational Play and at Carnegie Mellon University – also his Alma Mater. John works across hardware, software, and analog mediums to create joyful, playful experiences. John has nearly a decade’s experience in the classroom and has presented on the national and international stage.
John Balash joined the ETC in 2018.
CodeJoy
Project Inspiration
CodeJoy is a company based in Pittsburgh, PA that focuses on educational content to teach programming to students, as well as educate instructors on how to use technology. The primary inspiration from their work is their live shows where the livestream 40-50 minute programs where kids can send in their code to make small robots made of cardboard move.
More about their work can be found here: codejoy.org/about
