Ask HN: My 12 year old nephew wants to make a game, how do I help him?

Re:Ask HN: My 12 year old nephew wants to make a game, how d... by 542458 on Saturday June 13, 2015 @12:13PM (#9711434)

I think that this is the best choice. A lot of people are recommending "real" (albeit simpler) game making tools, but I think that those would be a mistake. At 12 his biggest obstacle is going to be becoming bored, not the skill ceiling of the tool. Scratch provides that instant visual output, skips the frustration of learning syntax, and has a large online library of other's creations for inspiration and learning.

Side though: scratch style programming inside minecraft has the potential to be awesome educationally. Somebody steal this idea (unless it already exists).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: My 12 year old nephew wants to make a game, how d... by hathawsh on Saturday June 13, 2015 @12:44PM (#9711575)

http://learntomod.com

My kids and I have tried it and we like it a lot. Lots of tutorials and ideas. Easily worth more than $30/year.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: My 12 year old nephew wants to make a game, how d... by ravisarma on Friday June 19, 2015 @10:09AM (#9744839)

I wonder however about the opposite effect. I think it was Bertrand Russell who said that boredom is an essential part of doing good work and learning to accept it an important part of getting good at something. If we make things too easy, flashy and fun for kids there is, I fear, the likelihood of setting wrong expectations, which will in short order sabotage the child's interest and effort.

[ Parent | on HN ]