Programming for beginners

graemer · 14 Sep 2011 at 15:26

My nephew is autistic but has a huge interest in computer games etc. He seems to have a very good grasp of what it takes to design a game etc.
We were concerned about his ability to manage once he has left school (he's 12). Is there any simple software out there for young people to learn programming?
Please excuse the simplicity as my knowledge im this area is zero.

AHarvey · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:27

simple software, I would imagine so.

There are a few games out there where you have to program robots or units using simple enough commands. You might also want to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)

We were chatting about it at work and most of us used it in school, that was some time ago now though. Not sure if its still going.

Your other option is python, they seem to have a lot of resources for teaching kids the language.

POB · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:33

Not experienced it myself but Microsoft do offer XNA Game Studio which allows for development on both Xbox and windows.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb200104(XNAGameStudio.40).aspx

Being based on .NET is easy enough to pick up and there should be loads of books / video tutorials etc.

Might make it more interesting being able to design for the xbox (and you can publish also I think onto the marketplace)

sniffy · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:43

http://www.greenfoot.org/ - Might be suitable as he's quite young

Dj_Jestar · 14 Sep 2011 at 17:16

Smalltalk. The language that was designed to introduce children to programming.

It just so also happens that because of its simplicity, it's utterly awesome for adults too

Pho · 14 Sep 2011 at 17:59

Kodu looks fun

http://fuse.microsoft.com/page/kodu.aspx

Hairybudda · 14 Sep 2011 at 21:35

Definitely either get him into python or XNA, both have helpful and vibrant online communities where he'll feel accepted and both have lots of online documentation. He's at a great age to start programming, he'll probably learn more over the next 5 years than he will the next 15

Chaos · 15 Sep 2011 at 00:19

Could have a look at -

http://scratch.mit.edu/
http://inventwithpython.com/index.html

Rich43 · 15 Sep 2011 at 00:28

Chaos said:
Could have a look at -

http://scratch.mit.edu/
http://inventwithpython.com/index.html

I think python is a good idea, since he will be able to use the language when he grows up also (since many businesses use it).

A.N.Other · 15 Sep 2011 at 11:07

That's a great age to start to learn programming. If he gets into it, he'll be flying in no time at all.

Python is both as easy and as complicated as you choose to make it, and is a very friendly language. There are also specifically written resources for teaching kids ... http://www.livewires.org.uk/python/home ... http://www.briggs.net.nz/log/writing/snake-wrangling-for-kids/ ... etc

To be fair though, lots of languages will have similar resources, and it wouldn't hurt to try other ones to give him a few choices. I learnt to program in pascal, which is another very simple language for beginners, although it's not as useful as python in the real world.

redeye_uk · 15 Sep 2011 at 11:32

Coming at it from a slightly different direction.

He could look at doing [web] browser based games. All he needs to learn is HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript (jQuery).

If he loses his interest in games then he can always become a web developer with the skills he has learnt.

Also, the above languages will be around for many years to come.

Xelene · 15 Sep 2011 at 22:37

AHarvey said:
simple software, I would imagine so.

There are a few games out there where you have to program robots or units using simple enough commands. You might also want to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)

We were chatting about it at work and most of us used it in school, that was some time ago now though. Not sure if its still going.

Your other option is python, they seem to have a lot of resources for teaching kids the language.

Was going to suggest Logo, but someone already has.

JonJ678 · 16 Sep 2011 at 03:33

graemer said:
...seems to have a very good grasp of what it takes to design a game etc...

Assuming that this implies he's fairly high functioning, and taking a bit of a guess at his personality, pointing him towards a very clearly defined and logical language seems the way to go. I think I'd direct him towards C. Specifically C Programming, a moden approach, by K.N. King.

C is somewhat unforgiving, but it does do exactly what you tell it to. I think that will appeal to him. Maybe have him read the Unix-Haters Handbook first to provide some background perspective on the language.

I don't follow the attraction of "extra simple languages to make learning easier", but then, I don't have kids.

Dj_Jestar · 16 Sep 2011 at 10:59

You'd point a child to C? I wouldn't point my worst enemy to C.

Alex74 · 16 Sep 2011 at 12:10

Dj_Jestar said:
You'd point a child to C? I wouldn't point my worst enemy to C.

Why's that?

mistercrabb · 16 Sep 2011 at 13:02

What about Gamemaker?
I used it years ago - must have been 14.
Easy to use, and you can progress from a drag/drop interface to GML (their own programming language).

To be honest, I made a game with gamemaker, then learnt C++ and couldn't use it for anything because of the huge inconvenience (in my eyes) of setting up lots of little engines to manage graphics/input/entity management etc, especially as there didn't seem to be any decent tutorials available.

Which is a shame because I would love to program games :/

Dj_Jestar · 16 Sep 2011 at 13:24

It's an horrifically ugly language. Many, many caveats to learn, and many many querks to it.

Tilluss · 16 Sep 2011 at 13:34

I think a lot of the posters are missing the point of the OP and pointing him towards stuff that lacks the nice and friendly introduction into games programming that he is asking for.

From what I have seen Kodu would be a good place for him to start, it relies on a lot of visual stimulus which should help him understand getting from idea to concept very quickly.

IF he manages to get a hang of the visual coding or you think it's a bit too basic for him then you can put him in the direction of a coding language. You can either keep within the idea of XNA (C# Language) which is what kodu is built on but is very much mostly coding, or you can point him towards a games engine like Unity3D which will allow him to see anything he codes (3 different languages are available to use in Unity3D) be instantly realised on screen and playable.

I wouldn't just throw him straight into a coding language with no real instant gratification to see games come to life, I know for a fact at that age all I wanted was to see things work straight away and when they did it pushed me to learn more.

Dj_Jestar · 16 Sep 2011 at 13:38

Tilluss said:
I think a lot of the posters are missing the point of the OP and pointing him towards stuff that lacks the nice and friendly introduction into games programming that he is asking for.

From what I have seen Kodu would be a good place for him to start, it relies on a lot of visual stimulus which should help him understand getting from idea to concept very quickly.

IF he manages to get a hang of the visual coding or you think it's a bit too basic for him then you can put him in the direction of a coding language. You can either keep within the idea of XNA (C# Language) which is what kodu is built on but is very much mostly coding, or you can point him towards a games engine like Unity3D which will allow him to see anything he codes (3 different languages are available to use in Unity3D) be instantly realised on screen and playable.

I wouldn't just throw him straight into a coding language with no real instant gratification to see games come to life, I know for a fact at that age all I wanted was to see things work straight away and when they did it pushed me to learn more.

Hey you, this is a geek forum! If you aren't doing something absolutely right, and by right we mean in the most advanced and difficult reasonable way, you shouldn't be doing it at all!

Pfft to all this sensible crap.

graemer · 22 Sep 2011 at 16:59

Sorry haven't been back here for ages. Thanks for the advice. Have set him up with a few of the suggestions here. Will see how he gets on.