Programming for kids

hornett

hornett

hornett

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Bridgend
My son loves minecraft and wants to try making his own games, he is only 9 but thought letting him get into programming could not hurt

Does anyone know of some good resources for teaching a child his age basic programming ?
 
Any specific language? There are a few websites out there that he could look at, I mean its worth a shot, I'm sure there would be some sort of game out there that you can learn with but I've not come across one. Now do you want some sort of WYSIWYG Game maker, or do you want him to learn a language and for him to program it with an editor?

I must say learning at 9 is a great time to learn a new language as at that time you're sort of gauging what your surroundings are etc.
 
To be honest I am not sure, I hated programming myself so not sure what would be a good place for him to start.

He says he wants to make his own games so what ever programming language suits that might keep him interested
 
Do they really have any game making language tutorials? :S

I'd say try Java, however wouldn't know where to start, however do let me know as that's something I'd like to look into in the near future too.
 
Hyburnate said:
Do they really have any game making language tutorials? :S
Click to expand...
No, but going straight in to 'game making' will be incredibly difficult. He needs to start from the start - learning the basics (variables, data types, arrays, loops) in a friendly language before getting hold of the more difficult concepts (object orientation, performance optimisation, advanced maths etc.)
 
Download Kodu by Microsoft, can even use a 360 controller with it.

Alternatively try Scratch. Plenty of video tutorials available for both.
 
Might be better to first learn to mod games.
Find a game he likes that is moddable, preferable with some kind of scripting or programming available and learn from there
 
My 10 year old brother uses codeacademy, he's having a lot of success, knows quite a bit about Ruby now.
The main stumbling block for him is the fact you have to adhere to the questions quite strictly, as he likes to use his imagination ;)
 
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