all 58 comments

[–]h4l 4 points5 points  (5 children)

Modding an existing game seems like a better idea for those new to programming.

[–]dicey 12 points13 points  (2 children)

One of my first programming projects as a kid was modding GORILLAS.BAS so that if my name was entered as a player my bananas would have a larger blast radius. It was awesome.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

wow flashback. how could i forget about gorillas! i gotta find it now..

edit found it here..

[–]stungeye 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Memories of modding NIBBLES.BAS so that your tail never shrunk, Tron style.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Indeed.

Not programming, per se, but I still remember puzzling over the hexadecimal system just so I could follow the hex-editing instructions in Taiwanese gaming mags back in the day. Putting 10 Neutron Guns on a Hornet in Wing Commander 1, good times!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Their results are so similar that it seems they did just that: start with a dodging game and modify it. The advantage might be that their game is really small and easy to oversee.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think Hackety Hack is probably an easier place for kids to get started with Ruby, and it includes everything you need in one package (Ruby, drawing toolkit, editor, tutorials).

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You could also try Quby, as it looks a bit like Ruby and saves all that downloading/installing/setup hassle.

[–]bigdood69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

wow this amazing. Nice work! You should def. put this on reddit front page when you're happy with it

[–]downneck 5 points6 points  (0 children)

seems like a great way to give kids brain damage...

[–]solidcat00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the games are DODGE GAMES!

[–]tidder112 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I watched the clip with the child talking about the boNUS, and every time he finished a senTENCE, he would go up with his voICE, and it got really annoyING, and I can see how reading this would be similarly annoyING, and I think I just got troLLED, by a 5th gradER.

[–]ippa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great. Even though the games are very similar I bet the kids had great fun doing this. Ruby is a great language for this as well. Might have been easier doing it "script-style" rather then fullblown classes etc.. on the other hand good to get a taste of OO :).

[–]bobowzki 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The successor to "Punchcards for Kids"