Programmers participate in field trip

By Caroline Jacoby ’22
Twenty-five eighth and ninth grade programming students visited the Riot Games’ headquarters on Dec. 14. Riot Games is a gaming company that was started by Brandon Beck ’00 and Marc Merrill. The company created the game “League of Legends,” which several students say led them to participate.
“I chose to go on the trip because I play ‘League of Legends’ and thought it would be amazing to see what happened to make the game what it is,” Walker McGinley ’22 said.
Other students on the trip play “League of Legends” as well, including Matthew Redford ’21, who is the highest ranked player at the Middle School.
The students on the trip toured Riot Games headquarters and saw where employees work and play. The trip was made possible by Beck and his wife, Natasha Beck ’00, who were taught by programming teacher Jessica Kaufman when they were at the Middle School.
“The purpose [of the trip] was to inspire students who love games to visit a game company and consider careers in making games,” Kaufman said.
Students said that they enjoyed this part of the trip and learned from it as well.
“My favorite part of the trip was looking at all the server statistics via graphs and charts [… which] make sure the game was running smoothly. I learned on the trip that if I want to do something, I should start now. Our tour guide told us this towards the end of the tour. He said if you want to be an artist start a portfolio and make some art. Eventually you will get better and better,” McGinley said.