Students Launch Easton Version of Angry Birds

You've probably heard of Angry Birds. 

Now get ready for "Raging Rovers."

This video game isn't one you can download from the Apple Store. It was made by Easton Area High School Students, for Easton Area High School students.

Its creators unveiled it last week at the school cafeteria, as a way to boost excitement for this week's Easton/Phillipsburg game.

Computer science students at the high school began designing Raging Rovers in September, said senior Benjamin Matase.

"The hardest part was setting up the network," he said. 

The game was playing out on three TV screens, which meant it needed to playing simultaneously on three computers.

The set-up may be complicated, but the game itself is not.

Angry Birds has a player launch the titular characters out a slingshot, with the hope of knocking down a series of structures with pigs inside them. The more pigs you knock over, the more points you get.

Raging Rovers plays out the same way, only with a cannon instead of a slingshot, the Easton Rover bulldog mascot standing in for the birds, and Phillipsburg's Stateliner cat taking the place of the pigs.

"You can go in as a three-year old and understand it in a few seconds," said Kevin Schimes, another senior.

The game is part of a larger effort at the school to get students more interested in computer science.

Earlier this month, the school board voted to change the high school's computer science curriculum. 

Next month, the high school will participate in a nationwide computer science education program called The Hour of Code. 

Raging Rovers will be available to play again Monday, and possibly Tuesday, in the school cafeteria.