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Fisher-Price Children's game for Linux
Isaac-Lew noticed a bit from LinuxToday about a
Fisher Price Childrens Game that actually has a Linux version. Then again it also has a DOS, a Windows 3.x version, an OS/2 version, and a PDA version, so they've either really go their bases covered, or there is a mistake. Regardless, its interesting to see such a name brand releasing a Linux port of childrens software: there sure isn't much of it right now, thats for sure. Unless you count Emacs (insert rimshot here).
This is a hoax in my opinion.
Uh, someone already called Amazon and Fisher-Price, and the listing is incorrect. There is no Linux version of this game. It was posted at LinuxToday before this story went up.
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
-bc
Most childrens software (at that level at least) isn't that complex or complicated. It probably didn't require that much effort for them to have it ported to several OS varieties. It only makes sense after all, if it does run on all the platforms they listed then they really aren't locked out of any market segment.
I love you... Ok I love you AND the UNIX operating system, but then I've know it longer.
Unless you count Emacs (insert rimshot here).
Is your inbox actually that empty? Now would be a good time to write up my "Slashdot-branded garter belts" idea and send it your way, then?
I think this is pretty clearly a data error -- For some reason, it's listing every entry Amazon.com has for "OS".
rOD.
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Rod Begbie done this, and he's not
Well it's very nice to see something like this come out, but does anyone know if it's Fischer Price or some other, sub-company that's made the decision to publish on that amount of platforms?
Emacs is children's software... when compared to vi..
I am neither a Fig-plucker, nor a Fig-plucker's Son... But I'll Pluck Figs 'till the Fig-plucker comes!
Next time go straight to the source.
...you'd think someone would twig when the Amazon page claims it's for ALL platforms.
(Since they use frames, the game in question is the second one listed on the right.)
They say it's for For Windows® 3.1 or higher & Macintosh® Quadra or better.
-Hmm, suppose I should get around to making an account sometime...
I don't know what he meant, but I like to play with EMACS, too! ;)
Here it is directly from Fisher-Price.
I can't wait for the day to come, when we will be able to buy our kids a Linux versions of their software. I just can't wait for it to happen soon...
Really, this whole story is a typo (i.e. Not true). It's possible that someday a company may do childrens games for Linux, but for now it's a sure money loser given the saturation of linux in the family home.
Well if it is true, then at least somebody is making a game to get to a prime target audience. Once you venture down the darkside, forever will it dominate your destinty. Emacs?!!!! Silly coder. Emacs is for kids. Stolen from life of Brian... Roman Legionaire:"You know what the punishment for hiding traitors is? Vi!" Jewish Conspirator:"Vi is a doggeral." Roman:"Don't say that."
Romanes eunt domus? People called Romanes, they go the 'ouse? It says Romans go home. No it doesn't. What's Latin fo
I have a kid who is just starting to move the mouse around. I let her mess with the xpaint program.
She hasn't figured much out yet.. ( she is only two ) But I was about to break out the Credit Card for the first time EVER on the net and order that thing.
Childrens games for Linux is something I would like to see.
Bitcoin pyramid: Join here: http://www.bitcoinpyramid.com/r/1427 it's FREE!
Emacs is great fun! M-x tetris RET, M-x blackbox RET, M-x psychoanalyze-pinhead RET, the list goes on and on...
All depends what you call simple. No, they aren't multi-player, networked games, it is true, but even some of the simpler ones are heavily graphic and sound enabled, often with tons of options. I know, having bought a few for my kids (ages 9 & 2).
Mike Eckardt
meckardt@yahoo.nospam.com
http://www.geocities.com/meckardt
While this seems to have been a mistake, doesn't it make sense to write a child's game in a protable language. The graphics need to be bright and happy, not fast and fancy. The game play isn't some super duper high performance AI, it should be simple and reliable so the little ones can discern the set rules as part of the learning experience.
Seems to me a scripting language such as Python, Perl, or TCL with a graphics toolkit like TK on top would be able to do everything but sound and be portable across a wide range of platforms. Development time should go down, thus reducing the cost of the product to a level that parents don't think twice about buying it, and they wouldn't have to worry as much about having the latest PC for the kids.
I'm not a GUI/game development type person, but for someone that is this could be an idea to start a small company around. The first game would be most of the work. Then with a language like Python you could reuse the modules in each new game thus reducing the effort level and keeping the games coming at a significant pace. In a year I'll be in the market for something like this and I'd buy it.
The story reports that
Bravery, Kindness, Clarity, Honesty, Compassion, Generosity
...Nothing interesting here. Just move along...
As it is I'm stuck with buying the kids an extra computer
We also need support in GUIs - kind of like Apple's launcher - a way for parents to set up kid environments so that they can't break out and trash the parent's world. In Linux this is particularly easy because the normal user protection mechanisms for a logged in kid can be used to keep them from damaging stuff by accident.
Some suggestions for kid-friendly GUI features:
If nothing else maybe it'll be the first time Fisher-Price gets /.'d -- I suggest everyone who was hoping this is right go email F-P and tell them you want them to start porting their games to Linux.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Even if this is a typo, why isn't Loki porting any childrens games? I know of a lot of Linux Users who would buy childrens programs for Linux. Mabye they would even add a Logo based script fu :)
Actually, emacs is an adventure game. Think of it as rogue that does spell checking...
My kids have a copy of this. They actually enjoy it, but it isn't very educational, and it positively *reeks* of crufty Windows 3.1 16-bittiness. I'd be surprised if it even stays in their product line without some significant revision.
That being said, i fervently wish and hope that the major children's game companies start working on Linux releases. A lot of children's software is really excellent - worth having Windows, if that's what it takes to use the stuff. One game i really like is Treasure MathStorm. From this game, my five-year-old son has learned to do two-digit addition and subtraction, with carries! This is something school wouldn't get around to doing for another couple of years, and would bore him silly by then.
What i'd really love to see is Linux-based diskless workstations as cheap school networks, but it won't happen unless the children's software happens.
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Maybe that's just the price you pay for the chains that you refuse.
Hand me that airplane glue and I'll tell you another story.
The Fisher-Price site says the program runs under Windows 3.1 (and up), so perhaps it works alright under WINE?
I'd love to see more of the popular kids' educational/entertainment titles for Linux. My daughter has been playing with this stuff on the Mac since she was three, but most of the machines in the house run Linux (x86 mostly). I really should try running some of her stuff (many of the CDs have both Mac & Windows version on them) under WINE.
Meanwhile, interested parents (uncles, aunts) might check out LinuxForKids and Childrens Linux Titles for more. (I haven't checked out these sites very thoroughly, they seem to be fairly new).
-- Alastair
given the number of kiddie "first!" posts on slashdot
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Why not? :-)
My 10-year-old (step) daughter was using XEmacs to practice typing just the other night.
Lots of us were sceptical from the start. I sent email to both Amazon and The Learning Company about both the Fisher-Price program and Treasure Cove, the other title showing Linux compatibility. The results are all there in the Talkbacks. FWIW, I suspect someone at Amazon ticked off the "Java" box on some entry form, which then built the page listing all the Java-capable OSs.
Doug Loss
simple visual shells (like Apple's launcher) basicly a bunch of icons on a window where adults can install games for kids
I've found that WindowMaker with its dock is pretty good for this. Nice big buttons along the right side of the screen.
Doug Loss
I was going to buy it without even knowing what it did, just to help support more Linux games.
Too bad it was a hoax.
Chris
When I die, please cast my ashes upon Bill Gates -- for once, make him clean up after me!
Now THIS is the product I would like to see ported to Linux. Muahahaha.
Geez, when I saw this my day got brighter. My 7 year old daughter, raised on a Mac from age 2, typing 18 words a minute by age 4 (Mario Teaches!) and spoke her first true thoughts at age 5 (I don't like Windows) is now turning into a Linux gamester using the standard issues of Redhat. My 3 year old shows even more hand/eye dexterity, but she's still giving the Mac a run for it's money. Brings to mind the old thought "Get 'em when they're young". Too bad it's not true.........
thanks, I'll try this tonight.
So what if your kids can't play a math game on the computer? Teach them how to play one they don't need the computer for... or teach them some programming so they can make their own games....
Have you read the Moderation Guidelines Addendum?
When saying there are almost no children games for Linux, it might be wise to check for existing toys not really perceived as games. A friend of mine used to think there's nothing for his kids on his Linux workstation at home, but when he fired up Logo for them, he found that he's not always able to pull them off the keyboard. Logo is a great tool, very intuitive even for small children and with nice educational bonus.
I'm not sure about Squeak, but being as agile as it is, I think something could be made from it for children as well.
You are in a maze of twisty commands, all alike...
For a minute there I was expecting to find a Win, Mac, Amiga, Palm, Atari, and OS/2 version but not Linux.
"Take that OS/2, Amiga, and Atari!"
"Not much of a victory is it?"
"Every little bit helps."
Then, um, wouldn't there probably be a 95% chance that'd it'd in run in Linux with the help of our friends in the WINE project?
Granted it's not native....but wouldn't it?
anyone? Beuller?
Seems to me the "chicken and egg" thing is going to be present for a while when it comes to stuff like kids games and educational software. The development costs/money brought in on products like this are low as it is, when you've got a minimal user base, and one that tends to gripe whenever somebody wants $$ for their software, it just isn't going to happen.
Of course I could be wrong. It has happened before....
Blech. Signatures.
News flash: EMACS is huge, and has HUNDREDS of strange, obfusciated commands. I've used it, but honestly I almost wish I hadn't. Then again, I've never used original vi... It's sort of an anachronism today. Vim kicks very serious ass, I do _ALL_ my coding (that's quite a stack of code too!) in Vim. There's only about a dozen commands you need to know to properly use Vim. I still don't know a TENTH of the full command-set, and I already find it the fastest editor I've ever used. (mind you, if you're forced to use a screwy keyboard layout, productivity goes down the tubes until you do some remapping... Fortunately it works out-of-the-box in RedHat, so its not usually a problem... Now if only I could get it to behave properly on Solaris... (on real Sun machines)) Oh, in case you're wondering, Vim is the smallest complete IDE you'll ever find. Syntax coloring for dozens of different languages, plus the ability to define your own. Etc. And Vim supports block-select, unlike original Vi, thank god.
All someone needs to do is write a kiddie game for Linux, that has no Windows counterpart. But it can't be just any kiddie game - it needs to be chock full of gimmick characters wired into children's minds by TV, like Pokémon! Just think, one ad later...
Little Billy: "Mommy, can I reformat our hard drive and put Linux on our computer?"
Mother: "But why? Linux is so gosh-darn complicated."
Billy: "But they have Pokémon for Linux now, and Daddy says Linux is reelyreelyreeely good!"
Mother: "But I like using Micorsoft Office, and Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Windows... I don't even think I could figure out how to install it for you!"
Billy: "But you'll learn it all anyway... for me?" (gives sad puupy look)
Mother: "It's just too much for a silly game."
(Billy snaps)
Billy: "BUT I WANT POKÉMON NOW! )(#@&%#!#%#%!#$P#%()#%* #%(#_#%*#%(151%@#%"
Mother: "Uhh.. but it's only a game..."
(Billy starts breaking things)
(Mother downloads Linux-Mandrake the next day)
With the sad manipulable effect TV has on children, we could sweep Microsoft's desktop monopoly away from them, right under their nose.
-Joe
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Moderators, do your worst!
-Joe
just in case someone comes back to this thread, I'll post a followup here.
He wasn't kidding about the colors. I thought he meant a little bit messed up...NOT! they are almost inverse video, but the game played fine.
the biggest problem I had was running setup.exe files for the game installs. I didn't get ANY of them to work for any of the games I tried. I continually ran into missing dll problems with the setup utilities and with trying to directly run the other games off the CDs. oh well.
anyone tried WABI? what about that mac emulator for linux?