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Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

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Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#1

Post by zcanann »

After many months of development, we are releasing Squally as early-access on Steam! This game teaches low-level computer science; topics such as data types, data structures, bin/dec/hex, and x86 assembly are gradually introduced through puzzles and gameplay.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/770200/Squally/

It's still very early in development, we currently have only released a card mini-game that teaches binary operations:

https://i.gyazo.com/0a33bbac5bbb5421f7eb120edd3ff6bb.gif

Re: Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#5

Post by thedirt0115 »

lquist wrote: post #4

Honest question: why? Why is low level computing the right thing to teach kids? Most people take the exact opposite approach to the extent they create very high level languages

A better question might be "why not?" I don't believe that it's required or forbidden to learn Assembly before e.g. Python. It's a game that teaches you stuff too -- I want lots of these in the world! Some kids might like low-level computing more than something else. And some adults might prefer game-ified learning over textbooks.

Re: Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#6

Post by snazz »

lquist wrote: post #4

Honest question: why? Why is low level computing the right thing to teach kids? Most people take the exact opposite approach to the extent they create very high level languages

It’s also how lots of older people learned: assembly on a simple personal computer before advancing to higher level languages. Although the machines today might not be so simple, this order of teaching (low—>high) is a good way to demystify computers and possibly teach alongside electronics courses.

Re: Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#8

Post by setr »

contingencies wrote: post #2

With kids stuff, it's generally conventional marketing to put "ages x-y" or "ages x+" front and center. I think this attracts parents, who are a time-starved lot.

I feel like the attraction isn't that it saves time, so much as it saves thinking. At least for me (kid-less), it's really hard to imagine the difference between something appropriate for a 5 year old and an 8 year old; particularly things that straddle the line

Re: Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#9

Post by setr »

contingencies wrote: post #2

With kids stuff, it's generally conventional marketing to put "ages x-y" or "ages x+" front and center. I think this attracts parents, who are a time-starved lot.

I feel like the attraction isn't that it saves time, so much as it saves thinking. At least for me (kid-less), it's really hard to imagine the difference between something appropriate for a 5 year old and an 8 year old; particularly things that straddle the line

Things are a lot easier if the producer just tells me the intended audience, which I can take with a grain of salt and decide from there

Re: Show HN: Squally – A Game to Teach Low Level Computer Science

#10

Post by rjplatte »

lquist wrote: post #4

Honest question: why? Why is low level computing the right thing to teach kids? Most people take the exact opposite approach to the extent they create very high level languages

Both ultra-low-level and ultra-high-level languages are easy to grasp. Ultra-low-level concepts translate better into logical skills, how to think, etc.
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