[fjtorres]

At CES 2009 MS introduced a whole new programming language/enviroment for XBOX 360 and PCs called Kodu (pronounced Code-you). Ostensibly its a game design tool for kids, its coming to XNA Community games by spring.

Sneaky sorts that they are, the MS Research dudes have actually crafted (shhh!) one heck of an educational tool. For kids of all ages. Spiritually, it is a 21st Century Turtle Logo.

Not content with hijacking the next wave of software developers while they are in college via XNA, now MS is going after the entire next generation while they're still in 6th grade.

I haven't coded anything beyond macros in ages and haven't even thought of cooking up a game since the Atari 800 days but this... this looks interesting.

Semantic programming with robust OOP tools and even recursion? Accessible to 12-year-olds? Yeow!

That is two whole sophistication levels higher than anything currently available on any console.

Just the previews give me ideas...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...xnas-kodu.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/943/943832p1.html

 

[PvtChurch]

This was actually announced last year under the title Boku (or something to that effect). It's very cool nonetheless. I think this is kind of MS's take on the User Created Content craze spurred by Spore and LittleBigPlanet.


If it works well it could lead to the production of some very awesome games. If it's to complicated or doesn't offer enough room for some creativity in game design though you're just gonna see a lot of the same crap churned out over and over. I look forward to it.

 

[cuco33]

This game is supposedly the direct competitor to LBP. LBP is awesome so if it's as good as it, Kodu will be very cool too. I have to admit, I don't know much about Kodu though.

 

[formulanerd]

was watching the videos, looks like a lot of potential, i like how they make it feel like a game, but still give a lot of logic behind the programming process.

 

[fjtorres]



Quote:
Originally Posted by formulanerd /forum/post/15521758


was watching the videos, looks like a lot of potential, i like how they make it feel like a game, but still give a lot of logic behind the programming process.

Cool, ain't it?

The best educational tools make learning a game, not dreary work.

Games by nature generally teach you something (the rules of the game, the "physics" of their world, the story of the characters, etc) and so does a software development environment. Kodu is both and it teaches programming concepts like loops, inheritance, and recursion through design-gameplay.

It makes programming into a game rather than making gameplay into programming.

Which is why Kodu is *not* an LBP competitor.

LBP is about programming gaming levels; first you work, then you play.

Kodu is about playing and then discovering you learned advanced programming techniques as a side effect.

The thing is intended as an educational tool first and foremost.


Which brings up the question: will the 360 start hosting more educational games?

I'm thinking Arcade and XNA might be a good vehicle for k-6 edutainment "games"; low cost/low distribution overhead, throw in a bit of parental guilt...

Sounds like a business model to me.

 

[mproper]

So this is out today. Anybody try it out? I plan on getting the demo when I get home.


Not much hype around it, but I'm very interested, especially to see if my 8 year old can use it...he builds "videogame" levels out of legos and we have dozens of tablets full of "videogames" laying around our house.

 

[tronn]

thread title makes me think its a transformer


"she's gone from suck...to blow!"

-spaceballs


i plan on getting it this week. demo time after work. link to the xbox queue is in the july 2009 retail, arcade, and indie releases thread

 

[logicalnoise]

I intend on buying it tonight

 

[eatenbacktolife]

Bought it this morning, messed around with it for maybe 10-15 minutes. Not enough time to give any kind of judgment, since at first glance it seems pretty deep. Characters have what looks like unlimited rows to assign if=when=do statements, so it will be interesting to see what people manage to come up with.

 

[tronn]

a game about creating games. i wonder if there is a limit as far as system resources that you can use. like memory for one, is there a soundtrack editor? can one be inserted from mp3 format? are pictures allowed from lets say the 360 vision cam?

still for $5.00 i'm very tempted to buy it just to make my dream of a "close encounters of the 3rd kind" game! complete with a mash potato mountain!

i also want to see how long before people make kodu versions of well-known games!

"EEEEEEEEEET'saaa MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KOOODUUUUU-MAAAAAAAAAAAARIO!" lol


also, they've setup a kodu game lab wiki here

it'll contain all the info regarding the game, tips and tricks, examples, how-to's, and such.

 

[tronn]

there is a slight problem with some peoples purchases of this game. they are being addressed as noted by the kodu blog: http://community.research.microsoft....addressed.aspx

 

[Lord Flatus]

Is this Carnage Heart incarnate?

 

[logicalnoise]

played a bit last night. I wish the actual game controls and dynamics were a little tighter but this a great way to be creative. really all kinds of gameplay is possible with this engine and I'm excited ot to try and think up some unique levels. I think I platforming level might be a good place to start. anyone comparing this to LBP is wasting their time. LBP is a huge big budget title platformer with a very indepth level creator which is designed to enhance teh game you bought.


Kodu is a 100% game level creator. a budget far smaller and a price that's unbeatable for what it is. Again I'm comparing just contrasting design choices. Kodu will rely heavily on user development but I think it will generate a lot of cool content.

 

[Shape]

I tried it out.


I like how the tutorial levels present the programming as solving a puzzle, because that is really what programming is.


The language is really simple and quite deep.


You can have multiple people playing at once.


You can make the camera 1st person.

It would be funny to see a wolfenstein level recreated with this.

 

[fjtorres]

I'll be checking it out soon; I'm thinking something like Ballblazer is about my speed...

 

[mproper]

I just tried the demo last night. While it timed out (it's a timed demo), I was really surprised by how much stuff there was.


I think I"ll buy it and play with it (it's really cheap anyways) but I think it might be a little too complicated for my 8 year old to use. His Bday is on Monday, and was thinking of getting this for him (for cheap), but I think I'll also get Little Big Planet instead, just because I think it's a little more intuitive and accessible to a little kid.

 

[logicalnoise]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper /forum/post/16758663


I just tried the demo last night. While it timed out (it's a timed demo), I was really surprised by how much stuff there was.


I think I"ll buy it and play with it (it's really cheap anyways) but I think it might be a little too complicated for my 8 year old to use. His Bday is on Monday, and was thinking of getting this for him (for cheap), but I think I'll also get Little Big Planet instead, just because I think it's a little more intuitive and accessible to a little kid.

LBP will be easier for him to handle since it ahs a main game which shows all the various aspects fo 2d creation and physics he can use and he can be happy just making levels which may be fun to traverse. Kodu is more of a easy access protopyping tool I think. I think anyone who's ever had to design a game(D&D, paper RPG, Hell even CCGs like Magic) will really have fun with this since very little of it involves anything analytical. Man the more I talk about it the more I want to play again.


Side note I did manage to crash teh game on tutorial 3 by hitting RT 5 times which made 5 lights in one place. I exited to teh dash and restarted. Happily the game seems to save as your creating. I hit resume and it loaded my progres son that level; right to the instruction of creating the light.

 

[Morkeleb]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper /forum/post/16758663


I just tried the demo last night. While it timed out (it's a timed demo), I was really surprised by how much stuff there was.


I think I"ll buy it and play with it (it's really cheap anyways) but I think it might be a little too complicated for my 8 year old to use. His Bday is on Monday, and was thinking of getting this for him (for cheap), but I think I'll also get Little Big Planet instead, just because I think it's a little more intuitive and accessible to a little kid.

I'd just add that you can't go wrong with LBP as a B-day gift. My daughter and I play LBP all the time. It is a great game. I recommended it to a friend who bought a PS3 and was looking for a game for his kids and they absolutely love it. The user created levels add unlimited replay value....now back to the regularly scheduled thread.

 

[Replicant Nexus6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by logicalnoise /forum/post/16758775


LBP will be easier for him to handle since it ahs a main game which shows all the various aspects fo 2d creation and physics he can use and he can be happy just making levels which may be fun to traverse. Kodu is more of a easy access protopyping tool I think. I think anyone who's ever had to design a game(D&D, paper RPG, Hell even CCGs like Magic) will really have fun with this since very little of it involves anything analytical. Man the more I talk about it the more I want to play again.


Side note I did manage to crash teh game on tutorial 3 by hitting RT 5 times which made 5 lights in one place. I exited to teh dash and restarted. Happily the game seems to save as your creating. I hit resume and it loaded my progres son that level; right to the instruction of creating the light.

Does their appear to be an ability to "import" items or objects (not just fully created games) created by yourself or others? And am I correct in interpreting that the gametype you decide to create is not constricted to anything in particular(like LBP's 2D platforming)? In other words, can I make a puzzle or FPS (simple, obviously) if I wanted to?


I may actually give this a shot!

 

[logicalnoise]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Replicant Nexus6 /forum/post/16759773


Does their appear to be an ability to "import" items or objects (not just fully created games) created by yourself or others? And am I correct in interpreting that the gametype you decide to create is not constricted to anything in particular(like LBP's 2D platforming)? In other words, can I make a puzzle or FPS (simple, obviously) if I wanted to?


I may actually give this a shot!

I didn't get all that deep just yet but I do beileve you can creat an object and assign it clasifications as a custom object to be generated at will and given programming just liek teh pre built charecters can. Don't trust me 100% on that just yet.


but yes you can make all kinds of games. There was a simon game where you had to hit Y, B, and A as creatures popped out of holes. The camera was locked to dead cenetr looking down so it worked just like simon. I noticed commands for point management as well as timers, boundaries, etc. so sports, action all of them can work in this enviroment. The coolest part is anything you down you can edit and see how it was done.