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Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

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Re: Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

#242

Post by sakras »

Would highly recommend Zero engine - it was used by DigiPen for their summer camps (which I attended)! The scripting language is a custom one called Zilch, but it should be straightforward to pick up if you know JavaScript.

https://github.com/zeroengineteam/ZeroDocs/blob/master/getti...

Re: Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

#244

Post by WorldMaker »

Many great suggestions in this thread. Some that I didn't spot:

Lua isn't tough to pick up given you already know JS and Python. It's a bit of a weird hybrid of the two in its own unique ways. If you show that you are learning it with your child, sometimes that can be a great experience. Löve2D can be a fun, very self-contained sandbox: https://www.love2d.org/

On the Python side, Ren'Py can be a great place to start. Visual Novels may not be half as popular outside of Japan, but Visual Novel-like conversations are everywhere in modern games and you can start with easy to script "Choose Your Own Adventure" Visual Novel conventions and expand to a wide range of genres from RPGs to "life sims" to some form of turn-based strategy games easily from there (and just about anything with more work). Ren'Py starts from its own relatively simple conversation-focused scripting language with Python-like conditions, and then allows you to expand towards custom Python code as you get familiar with it. https://www.renpy.org/

Re: Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

#245

Post by jimbomins »

zoomablemind wrote: post #230
stuporglue wrote: post #120

My daughter is 11 and has been making simple games on Scratch. There's a lot of assets (images, characters, backgrounds) already in the system. The sending signals and receiving signals wasn't intuitive for her at first, but now she's getting it pretty well. I don't think she could/would have figured it out on her own yet. Her older sister is 14 and spent a lot of time learning Scratch last year, so she was able to h…

+1. Scratch indeed is very flexible environment for that (even younger) age group. Lots of interactive ideas could be easily implemented with already available assets (sprites, backgrounds, sounds), customized too. It's more tooled for platformers. There are many nice tutorials (loadable projects). Tons of books (we used 'Super skills. How to code'). The other day this 8yo even had to face first ever concurrency bug…

Indeed. My daughter did a couple of games in Scratch when she was 8 (possibly younger).

But from other comments Scratch seems to have picked up a lot of extraneous crap like social and tiktok in the intervening years (decade).

Re: Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

#246

Post by rhbrolo »

A general good orientation resource for children and teenagers is https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize . Loots of cool, interactive guides there, interesting articles, all to help them find their way easier. You will find all the subjects contained in the education plans in the UK. Texts are amazing, guides are well structured and there are some great videos.

Other than that, it all depends on which part he'll like more if he starts......graphics, coding, game assets, level design and so on.. by the time he figures that out, he'll be able to pick a game engine for "adults" (for example, Unity)

1. These game engines claim to be kid and beginner friendly: - https://www.kodugamelab.com - https://www.cocos.com/en/

2. Python is a solid all-rounder, future-proof skill

Here are some free resources:

- https://github.com/pygamelib/pygamelib - https://kidspython.com - https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Programmers - https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-for-kids/ - good starting point with general Py guidelines for kids. - https://github.com/mytechnotalent/Python-For-Kids - very cool free book

3. Playing Minecraft, Roblox, beamNG, or any other game that supports mods & user made goodies. It's a good place to start building something in that environment. This can even bring some money if the idea becomes popular among the game's community.

4. The Hardware side of things

- building STEM games - with countless of gadgets, toys and other crazy devices out there. ( ex: Osobots ) These may become a bit expensive quite fast, but rewards on this path are surely worth it - on the CyberSecurity side, there are some cool little gadgets that can run all kinds of clever games - pwnagochi (a tamagochi pet that eats wi-fi to stay happy and needs to be fed), FlipperZero ( https://lab.flipper.net/apps/category/games ) - Internet of Things - ( https://github.com/microsoft/IoT-For-Beginners )

-- smart devices, PCBs, chips, sensors that can make "dumb" objects smart (instructables.com) -- IoT will revolutionize the gaming industry by changing the way players interact with a virtual world. -- gamification of activities in other industries to make them easier to learn/understand/do

5. Last, but not least, there are many other areas of game development

- mobile games - browser games (HTML Canvas games, or crazy 3d JavaScript libraries)

Some extra resources - might be a bit off-topic, but maybe you'll find something interesting

- https://github.com/HollyAdele/awesome-programming-for-kids - https://github.com/yrgo/awesome-educational-games - https://learn.khanacademy.org/khan-academy-kids/

Hope this helps, good luck !

Re: Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?

#247

Post by rhbrolo »

A great general resource for children and teenagers is BBC Bitesize (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize>). It offers lots of cool, interactive guides and interesting articles across a variety of subjects, including those relevant to game development. The texts are well-written, the guides are well-structured, and there are some great videos. Some concepts might be easier to understand even for adults, why not ?

Once your kid discovers an area of interest within game development, such as graphics, coding, game assets, or level design, they can start exploring more specialized tools and resources. For example, if they're interested in coding, they might consider a kid-friendly game engine like:
Eventually, they can move on to more advanced game engines like Unity.

Game Development with Python and Mods

Python is a versatile and widely-used programming language that's great for beginners. Here are some free resources to help kids get started with Python:

    
    
    
     - A good starting point with general Python guidelines for kids.
     - A very cool free book
Playing games like Minecraft, Roblox, or BeamNG that support mods and user-made content can also be a great way to get started with game development. This allows kids to experiment with building and creating within an existing game environment. This can even lead to earning money if their creations become popular within the game's community.

Hardware and Cybersecurity in Game Development

The hardware side of game development offers exciting possibilities for kids and teens. Here are a few areas to explore:

    Building STEM games: Numerous gadgets, toys, and devices can be used to create interactive games.  This is a good start for getting into Robotics. Ozobot, Beebot, Evollve. Keep in mind that some of these tools can be expensive, but the learning rewards can be significant.

    Cybersecurity games: Gadgets like Pwnagotchi (a Tamagotchi-like pet that "eats" Wi-Fi) and Flipper Zero () with its collection of hacking-themed games can introduce kids to cybersecurity concepts in a fun and engaging way. These tools can help them understand how games interact with networks and devices.

    Internet of Things (IoT): IoT is transforming how we interact with the world and has huge potential in game development. Kids can learn to use smart devices, PCBs, chips, and sensors to create interactive games and "smart" objects (). Here's a resource to get started: 
   
  IoT opens up exciting possibilities for game development, such as:

    - Revolutionizing player interaction with virtual worlds.
    - Gamifying activities in other industries to make them more engaging and easier to learn.

  Other Areas in Game Dev

    - beyond what I already mentioned, there are many other interesting and exciting paths to take. Consider checking:

    Mobile game development: Creating games for phones and tablets.
    Browser game development: Building games that can be played directly in a web browser using technologies like HTML Canvas () or crazy 3D JavaScript libraries.
Additional Resources - might become useful along the way

   Awesome Gamedev: 
   Awesome Programming for Kids: 
   Awesome Educational Games: 
   Khan Academy Kids:
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