Since your son enjoys drawing, something like Pixicade[1] can help teach him basic concepts of game development without any programming.
Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
331–340 of 391 posts
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#332Like a lot of people in this thread. I was 9 when I started using game maker.
This wasn’t by chance, the good fortune of some willing parent who wanted to teach kids how to make games started a club at my elementary school.
By the end of the year, I could put together most rudimentary 2d games I could imagine.
I think more than anything, don’t worry about finishing, don’t worry about getting everything right, empower the kid to engage with their ideas and that’ll go a long way.
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#333Understand 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…
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Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#334It depends on the kind of game he wants to make.
If it's about 3D scenery or physics, I would recommend Godot. Just import some 3D models, place them into a scene, add lights and physics, and you need very little coding to have a simple 3D game. You can add complex logic and UI later on.
If the focus lies on UI, NPCs, combat, or inventory, I would recommend GameMaker instead. It's 2D, but it's made for that kind of stuff.
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#335Well, I think this is a great way to get them interested in computers, analytical thinking and spending time with you. It's like going out fishing with you son.
I think unity is reasonably simple to start with. Seen 11 year old use it
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#336My 9-yo son has been making games with GameMaker https://gamemaker.io/
It's a popular framework for creating 2D HTML games and publishing them on sites like Crazy Games.
GameMaker has a lot of great tutorials and templates that makes it easy to get up and running. I usually just set him up with one of the existing game templates and let him loose on customizing the characters using the built-in tools. Then I help him customize the game interactions. GameMaker has two modes: one for visual flow editing and one for directly editing the code. It's a great onramp to learning to code with a super low barrier to entry.
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#337That sounds lovely Why don’t you put coding and all the complicated stuff aside and try to build it in an interactive way? For example, there is a game on PlayStation called Dreams; check it out.
It allows you to create 3D games in a more casual and interactive way, without getting too complicated, although it also allows things to be made complicated if you want to.
Good luck
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#338Use the "crawl before you walk" metaphor and tell him to design it to 2d first and when that gets going, you all can look at 3d. You'll never do the 3d version with him but maybe he might do it solo... You guys might actually accomplish something. Valuable lessons to be had in risk containment, testing ideas, etc.
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#339Maybe my advice will not be popular but, I teach 3D programming professionally, and I think the best start is to stay away from code (at the beginning)!
Just use unreal engine, its pretty neat and powerful, it will be a very nice bounding experience to learn a (complex) software together! Don't be intimidated by all the menus, most kids at 9 can do pretty advanced stuff when they really want it.
I advice to download directly a free (official) game tutorial (in unreal engine) and start to play with it, you'll have professionally made assets available, levels already designed and even some game mechanics and a step by step tutorial.
When, and only when, the general procedure to make a game is understood (terrain creation, what are assets, movements, etc..) you can start with blueprints (block programming), you will be able to reach good quality games just with it. After a while (years maybe), you can start c++ ;)
Note: differently than other advices, I say go directly 3d,the barrier is lower than you think with a good engine, and if he wants 3d, no need to bore him with 2d first.
Note 2: A friend of mine teached 3d programming with shaders to children of 12-17 yo with great success.
Note 3: some people advice Godot, I find it a neat engine, free, open-source mentality, and all that and it's very promising, BUT, you will find way less resources and community. As it's for someone young, ressources, tutorial material without code, and generally widely disponible online help is crucial to maintain a high engagement. You're not trying, at the moment, to teach him open source, but game creation, he will have plenty of time to switch if needed.
Re: Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
#340Start with 2D and something like gamemaker, stealing sprites from games like metal slug. If they aren't familiar - setup a mame or snes emulator and go to town. The key is to reduce the barrier to entry and get something emergent to happen. Like a zombie shooter where a shot zombie stumbles into a fire barrel that adds "fire" to anything it touches. This could create a flaming zombie that spreads fire to the other zo…
> stealing sprites from games like metal slug
No need. There's a ton of free sprite packs available online nowadays, most of which will be easier to work with than a decades-old arcade system.