Ask HN: Intro to Game Development path for a 12 year old?

[throwaway_switc]

My 12 year old is certainly interested in tech. He's in a STEM school and interested in the curriculum. He's also quite interested in _playing_ video games, so I'd like to utilize that passion to get him more involved in software development.

I'm an experienced software dev myself, but have zero knowledge of video game development. He has a Switch, and I'm trying to find an engaging online course that will ideally result in him creating a Switch game (to get him familiar with concepts of software development with a major focus on game dev). Not sure where to start, other than a Unity or Unreal course, but I'm not sure which engine is best for a Switch, or what course(s) are a good starting point for a 12 year old.

[frompdx]

Others have mentioned Godot and I really recommend it as an introduction to game development. It is very easy to pick up and the default programming language (GDScript) is easy to learn. I have a few small games and plenty of PoCs with Godot.

While many engines can be ported to the switch, including Godot, your son won't be able to do that with the Switch he has. This requires an official dev kit, which requires approval from Nintendo. See this thread to get an idea of what is involved. https://old.reddit.com/r/godot/comments/1f9o4sp/i_just_recei...

If you think your son will be motivated to make a game for a handheld platform I recommend the Steam Deck. Your son can install Godot on the deck and with a mouse and keyboard attached your can actually use the Deck to both build and play his game. The short feedback cycle will hopefully keep him engaged.

[al_borland]

I think going straight to Switch would likely be a tall order. I’d start him off with something where he can be successful right away, writing something he can play on his own computer or share with friends easily.

Scratch[0] is often used to start kids out with programming. He may already use it in school, I know my nephew does, who is around the same age. I made a silly little game in Scratch about a year ago to share with my nephews[1], to try and inspire them a bit. The oldest one quickly went into the code and started tweaking the variables I had set to control things like speed and randomness to make it more chaotic. It’s a good way to learn the concepts of variables, loops, sprites, hit boxes, etc without getting bogged down with the complexity of syntax or a professional game engine. It’s also in the browser, so he can easily share with friends and have them play it, or fork it.

After that, maybe look to something like Godot[2]. It’s free and open source, so he doesn’t have to worry about licensing and all that nonsense that a 12 year old shouldn’t have to think about. I briefly looked and saw some videos of people running the Godot engine on the Switch, but I don’t know what’s involved in that.

I wouldn’t get too tied to a console when learning. Rumors of the Switch 2 are floating around, and who knows, that could mean a whole different path. Starting on the computer avoids this problem, and other huddles. Then if he likes the act of game dev and learning those things, he can cross the bridge to whatever the current console is, if that’s the direction he wants to head.

[0] https://scratch.mit.edu/

[1] https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/733627274/

[2] https://godotengine.org/

[zachlatta]

He might like https://sprig.hackclub.com, which is an open source JS game engine and console we made. If he makes a game, we'll send him the console for free! All the games in the gallery are made by high schoolers, and some middle schoolers too. (we're a nonprofit that gives free hardware to teenagers through some of our programs)

[shortrounddev2]

Pico-8 is nice. It uses a friendly programming language (lua) and also limits the scope of what you can do (simple 2D pixel art) while providing basic tools for drawing shapes on the screen. It's very similar to how many people learned to program using BASIC back in the day

[1jss]

I've heard Roblox get recommended as a way of "playing" into programming. It's a multiplayer game platform scriptable in Lua. Doesn't seem like it supports any Nintendo devices, but is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Xbox, and PlayStation. https://create.roblox.com/

[woolybully]

nand2Tetris https://www.nand2tetris.org/

30 Days Lost in Space https://inventr.io/products/adventure-kit-30-days-lost-in-sp...

CodinGame https://www.codingame.com/start/

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (book)

Soma Cube (there are lots of versions, both licensed and unlicensed, but be sure to get the booklet that shows 30 or more figures that can be built). https://fam-bundgaard.dk/SOMA/NEWS/N160817.HTM#PARKER

[purple-leafy]

Does he play any computer games? Making mods can be a good first introduction.

I’ve heard Godot is a bit easier to pick up than unity or unreal, and the tutorial has you making a simple game in about 2 hours.

GodotScript is also a very straightforward language to learn (like Python), and you can build for the Nintendo switch with Godot

[bzzzt]

If you have a Switch, check out "Game builder garage". It's a simple game engine with prefab components you can wire up to create different 2D and 3D game and has a big built-in tutorial so it's not as overwhelming as a big game engine to start with.

[tmaly]

MS MakeCode allows you to program in blocks, Python, or Javascript.

They have some good tutorials for 2d games, and you either run the games in the browser or load them into various hardware.

[gabrielsroka]

How about https://www.fuze.co.uk/nintendo-switch.html

[RecycledEle]

Scratch, Alice or MIT App Inventor

Then move him to Java with the book Beginning Java SE 6 Game Programming

I hope I got the names right. It's been a while.

Source: I taught classes using these tools.

[kevinsync]

As a father, a coder by profession, a life-long enthusiast, with a son who is a carbon copy of myself and on the cusp of being a teenager, I haven't found the answer... and kind of gave up looking for it.

I came up on BASIC, Pascal, MUDs, C, internet in realtime as it was invented in the 90s. I was obsessed with early Japanese RPGs and comics, cards, all that shit. I'm of the "multimedia generation", when CD-ROM was the future, and dialing up to CompuServe finally offered a real TCP/IP connection to browse the web. I really thought I wanted to make games for a living -- I wanted to go to DigiPen. I worked through Andre LaMothe books front to back. I tore apart DikuMUD source to learn C before even learning some basic 7th-grade Spanish, let alone grasping how C actually worked. My parents just left me alone, they didn't understand anything I was doing and didn't pretend to, and it was kind of a gift lol.

A couple decades later, here comes this brilliant kid who has all the same tendencies and proclivities -- he graduates from an iPad to a PC and instantly takes to it, but in ways that don't make sense to me. His waypoints are Minecraft and Roblox. I learn both so I can at least keep up with his interests and offer advice / help when it's asked for.

He's now many years into both, and he's an incredible Minecraft builder / modder / redstone dude, learning almost everything from YouTube videos all on his own. I had no teachers so I taught myself as well, usually from books instead of really amazing videos. In Roblox, he's a great builder, but struggles with some of the 3D modeling, file/code organization, spatial grasp of the object-oriented nature of the Roblox API. I've written plenty of code for him and most hasn't sunk in, but I think eventually it will.

He wants to learn JavaScript, so I suggested we make some simple browser games -- Tic-Tac-Toe, etc, which culminated in him conceiving this fantastic arcade-style fishing game -- I built out the basic mechanics on top of Phaser, but by the time I had a really solid first level together that we could rebuild together for learning and fun, he was bored and back to Minecraft LOL

I realized that I never wanted a (present, in-person, active) teacher, and apparently this kid doesn't either. I'm now just letting him use me as a sounding board and helper, I guess a "guru" he can query, but otherwise I just encourage and facilitate him finding the information he wants rather than dictating process and procedure. There's no better teacher than the undeniable voice inside your own head that tells you you need look, explore, try, fail, and succeed, on your own.

Hilariously, he tends to listen and learn from his actual school teachers, who objectively don't know shit about code and technology, but they INSPIRE, they're palatable, they're role models he excitedly accepts information from and runs circles around. Sometimes you have to have those outside influences that aren't as comfortable as the resources you have at home, and I have a lot of respect for that.

Anyways, long rant, but there's really something to be said about (proverbially) taking your kid to the library, winding them up, and letting them loose; I haven't had much luck going down the path of curriculum and process. You just want to light the fire and point them in the right direction. Follow their lead. They'll take you along with them further than you could ever have imagined!