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Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#301

Post by boringuser2 »

Remember when you were a kid and wanted a dog, and your parents (good ones) tried to emphasize that your ideas weren't realistic because you wouldn't put in the effort and responsibility required to have one?

This is the same scenario except your kid thinks he can more reasonably trick you into shouldering responsibility.

I wouldn't even sweat "learning to code" as a concept for his enrichment because A) he won't be able to meaningfully do so at his age and B) there's literally a zero percent chance "coding" survives AI.

Such a strange thing that people forgot how to parent.

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#302

Post by rodolphoarruda »

fn-mote wrote: post #42

Understand that you're not going to finish what you start. Do things that are fun. Keep a notebook of ideas. Talk about plans and what you want do. Spend time with him. Even if almost none if it ever makes it into code, the imagination part will be going wild. Look at what he's really doing. He doesn't want to CODE. He wants to make a game. Like every kid. Emphasize the creative part just like he wants. Do things on…

Yes. My then 10 y.o. son also wanted to build a game. At least that's what he told me. So we went out together to learn how to do it in Roblox. We eventually learned we needed to be coding in the Lua programming language, which is by itself cool as we are Brazilians. We took some classes together but then I saw my son suffering as he tried to get along with abstractions and the development process itself. He quickly found out it had nothing to do with playing games! So the lesson we learned was, as the parent commented, my son and I just wanted to do something fun together. That's basically it.

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#304

Post by danielvaughn »

falcor84 wrote: post #276
danielvaughn wrote: post #268

I’d recommend getting a PS5 and buying Dreams. It’s a fantastic tool for making games, and allows you to bypass the 3D math. Seriously, it’s incredible.

I recall hearing that they discontinued it. Is the community still going strong?

The community is still around. Eventually the online services will be shut down, which is just...super sad. But the game itself will always be available, which includes the creation tools of course.

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#306

Post by imnes »

I wouldn't try to implement anything yourself. Use one of the game building toolkits already out there.

If you don't mind going vintage, this is one I used many years ago, it's for building 3D games similar to DOOM, for DOS. You might need a dos emulator to run it in if your OS is too new to support it. Fun to play with though.

https://archive.org/details/lukecool_gmail_GCS

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#308

Post by dudeinjapan »

als0 wrote: post #190
wodenokoto wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reminds me: When I was about 9 or 10 I created the sequel to Zelda a link to the past. With colored pencils. On paper. Dozens and dozens of sheets of paper. That game was amazing. I can’t believe Nintendo didn’t call me up, but instead decided to make a 3D game

That 3D game is pretty good, to be fair.

I dunno I thought it didn't have enough fetch quests.

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#309

Post by jabroni_salad »

zhivota wrote: post #41
McKayDavis wrote: post #10

My kids were able to make complex 3D games at 9yo with very little help using Roblox Studio. It’s free. https://roblox.com/create Disclaimer: I work for Roblox Corp.

Funny because right now my son is busy building a "Doors" clone in Roblox Studio. I don't think it will have any logic but he loves just building the map so far. He's 7.

You dont need much logic to make a good parkour map. Watch a couple episodes of MXE if inspiration is needed.

Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

#310

Post by dcchambers »

Why not try to build the game together in a sandbox game like Minecraft, Gary's Mod, Little Big Planet, Mario Maker, etc. The limitations of those sandbox engines make it more fun, there's no (or minimal, simplified logic) programming required, and you can instantly see results and have fun.
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