(2008-12-23) Web Game Platform Contest

Lots of parents would like to get their kids to learn Computer Programming, but the kids want to build Computer Game-s, which are often quite a challenge.

• This just came up again here - 2008-11-03-WilsonHackingEducation

They often want high-production-value stuff like World Of Warcraft. But on the other hand, lots of relatively simple Flash games like the free stuff on MiniClips or Kongre Gate is popular. Mark Hurst's list might provide some candidates too, though those are his taste, not that of a pre-teen boy.

So maybe we need to pick some Flash game that's not too crazy, then get all the language/platform folks to make a tutorial driven by cloning that game.

I think focusing on platforms that can deliver a game as WebApp is ideal, because it adds the FeedBack of sharing your future games with friends. Language For Learning Programming? Game Development Platform?

Maybe the KongregateLabs "Shoot" game is a good choice, since they already provide a series of tutorials.

I Commented on the Scratch forums with this. The answers were not encouraging, though one user pointed to Neo a good exemplar.

PyGame isn't for web games, but I Commented on their list anyway.

I Commented on the EToys list.