Slashdot Mirror
Involving Kids In Free Software Through Games
SynrG writes "Platinum Arts Sandbox puts into childrens' hands the ability to role play in a 3D world and edit that world using simplified controls. The expressions on the faces of our kids as they played were priceless; both the ups and the downs. I wanted to capture this on video and share it. After having established a rapport with upstream, we took a 20 minute clip of one of our play sessions and gave a copy to them to use to help further their work. Here is the edited result. They were very pleased to have that kind of feedback and found the video valuable for determining where the software still needed improvement and to notice which aspects particularly pleased the children."
I recommend reading this page:
http://kids.platinumarts.net/what-is-sandbox.html
And check out this tutorial video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g44Ww2bg2_E
Take care!!
Do you all want to be a parent of some soul-less little pokemon-playing faggot glued to a monitor during all of their waking hours? Do you want to teach them that escapism is an acceptable way to deal with life? Do you want your kid to be the overweight, friendless baby-talker who reads lame fantasy books all day? Do you want to raise somebody who will grow to be 300 pounds and who will want to live with you rent-free through their adulthood, urinating in a bucket they keep in their room and emerging only to ask for your money?
Yes. Like father, like son.
How is giving kids free software to play with equivalent to involving them in free software? If they aren't working on the software itself, how are they involved? I understand it is a sandbox that they can play with, but what is the importance of its openness as far as the kids are concerned?
I have taught high schoolers to develop video games in their free time using a FOSS game engine I put together. That seems more like involving kids in free software, to me.
This, on the other hand, is a cool way of allowing kids to interact with video game simulations in a way that allows them to be creative. It sounds like it works well for a relatively young age group as well, which is a good thing. However, while the summary of this interesting idea is not bad, the subject line is somewhat insane. I don't think we need to artificially emphasize the openness of our projects to garner a good reception on Slashdot.
Insert self-referential sig here.
I've typed "newent" a few times, and that game looks a lot like Sauerbraten to me, but I din't see anything about Sauerbraten or Cube 1/2 in the article or on the game's page... http://www.sauerbraten.org/
It might get them interested in modding, I guess, and then they'll move on to something which actually allow them to write some code too. E.g., see the Oblivion or Fallout 3 or NWN2 scripting.
Most of the basic concepts involved in programming are just as applicable to and learnable from scripting, as from C++ or whatever else. E.g., according to a recent article, apparently one hurdle that half the population can't get over, is the humble "a = b" assignment. If a kid managed to get over it in a script to make their +5 Sword Of Ganking available in a game via a simple quest, or to put in a new uber-spell in NWN2, it's something they can apply later in a real programming job.
And to some extent most such mods involve starting from _some_ sources, and sharing your own source. It's not really F/OSS that would please RMS, but it can serve to drive a point home. Especially when they run into stuff like that they can't import their favourite companion or weapon from Oblivion into Fallout 3, because it's copyrighted by Bethesda and most mod sites have stern worded restrictions on that kind of thing. And they can also see what it's like to be on the other side of the fence, when someone else takes your sources and models, with or without permission, and makes his own mod out of them. It seems to me like you then can make your own informed choice between such stances as "meh, I couldn't care less" (Public Domain), "... as long as he gives credit" (BSD) or "... as long as he shares his changes too" (GPL) or a few others. (Over-simplified view of those licenses, to be sure, but you get the idea.)
Or maybe decide that "mine! all mine!" is what fits their personality the best, I guess.
On the other hand, I see no reason not to start directly from one of those games in the first place. If I were trying to get a kid interested in coding, I'd probably rather start from something like that.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
I would first like to point out that this was the original news title: Free 3D Game Maker Gets Kids Involved Through Play The new one seems to be a bit misleading. The goal of Platinum Arts Sandbox is so that kids and adults can quickly and easily create their own video games and 3D worlds. The software is free and open source. I recommend watching the tutorial video to see how the in game editing works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g44Ww2bg2_E I have used Sandbox to teach a HS afterschool club, at a Middle School, a kids summer camp over 3 weeks with about 60 kids, with my college students, etc. Also many other teachers from around the world are using it. In addition it has been featured at various conferences and included in a software package that goes out to 500 German schools. In addition it has been voted one of the top 100 projects of 2008 at moddb out of over 5k, and waiting on voting to see if it makes it in the top 5. In my classes kids have learned to design levels, model, script, code including adding their own monsters, and how to use SVN. Kids as young as six have had work submitted. To learn more about its specific features you can go here: http://kids.platinumarts.net/what-is-sandbox.html I think what SynrG has done with his kids is extremely valuable. They are learning new ways to express their imaginations, create stories through roleplaying, learn game design, and more. The next step is teaching them how to use scripting to make quests. I think a big mistake aspiring game developers make is not seeking out game developers and the proper communication channels. This is something I really try to hit home with my students. You can gain so much insight about the software, and also about the developers themselves and their experiences. And generally with free software there is a much greater chance to get in contact with these individuals, whereas with commercial products contact is much more limited, if you get any responses at all. And this way the kids get to learn the ins and outs from the developers themselves. Communication and being able to express yourself in general is a really important skill to learn, especially as an aspiring developer and these kids are getting a great opportunity to start early. As a note to the guy that was worried it might get "ripped away" that isn't going to happen. I started this project for elementary kids in my afterschool program and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon :) Also to the person that suggested that this could get people into modding, such as NWN. Why would you do that? You're going from a project that has everything completely open down to the engine source and SVN, to a closed source project where you're lucky to even get much game code. I think if you can start with a good standalone that is a much better experience. Take care and enjoy the software!
-mike
Creator of the Coop Doom 3 Mod Last Man Standing and Platinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game Maker