A Game to teach programming

Programming isn't hard. It's a piece of cake. I've taught complete computer neophytes what machine code is all about in less than 2 hours. This was during my first ICT GNVQ lesson. (And before you ask: yes, it did 'click' with them... and no, I didn't scare anyone away either!)

The trick isn't to fret about maths and all that fluff -- when I started out in IT during the 8-bit era, most CPUs couldn't even handle floating point numbers natively. 'Maths' is counterproductive. What it takes is an ability to grasp the concept of cause and effect.

The secret is getting people to understand how computers _think_. Once people understand what computers actually do, everything else starts to fall into place.

Your suggestion is a sound one. I've been toying with building something similar. My free time is minimal though, so I'm not holding my breath until I start. There's also the small matter of this concept having been attempted on a number of occasions already.

The problem with designing a graphical programming systems is that you need to forget about merely translating a traditional programming language into a visual form, and essentially design something from scratch that fits the graphical medium.

Most attempts have failed precisely because of this--they've just gone for the "let's make it look like a flowchart" approach, which is fundamentally flawed: Flowcharts are merely blocks of text in boxes, which defeats the point of a graphical programming environment. (It doesn't help that flowcharts were designed for early almost-procedural languages like COBOL.)

When I attempted this project last year, I realised that it was actually far easier to design a graphical representation of low-level (i.e. machine code-type) programming. Higher-level programming is more difficult as programming languages get very abstract very quickly as you start going up the ladder. (How do you differentiate a 'struct' and a 'class' clearly using icons?) The solution is that a fully graphical language is needed. This is a lot harder than it sounds, but it's an interesting area to explore. Not least because if we ever want to program computers using speech rather than typed words, we'll also have to design a 'spoken' programming language. (Verbose languages like COBOL are actually a better fit for this than something like C++ or Perl.)

I think I have tons of notes on this stuff still lying around my hard disk somewhere. Once I get this f#!%ing database done and dusted, I really ought to dig them out.




--
Sean Timarco Baggaley

[edited by - stimarco on June 7, 2002 10:41:45 PM]

I think this game sounds like a neat idea. But the very first step, in my mind, to creating it is to design and implement the scripting language. You''d have to decide, do you want it to emulate C or C++ so programmers can move on to it without being daunted? Or do you want a more intuitive language like Visual Basic?

I would go with an intuitive language. Teaching programming is not about teaching C++ syntax - it''s about algorithmical design (and using words that probably aren''t real, like ''algorithmical'') and using variables and numbers to make things happen. So you would want to make a relatively simple scripting language, and you''d introduce new elements of the language as the user completes the "levels."

~CGameProgrammer( );

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Original post by stimarco
...I think I have tons of notes on this stuff still lying around my hard disk somewhere. Once I get this f#!%ing database done and dusted, I really ought to dig them out.

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Hi stimarco,
Hey cool - I''d like to exchange some thoughts with you... if you''d to email me we can compare notes, as it where.

quote:

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Original post by CGameProgrammer
...do you want it to emulate C or C++ so programmers can move on to it without being daunted? Or do you want a more intuitive language like Visual Basic?

I would go with an intuitive language. Teaching programming is not about teaching C++ syntax - it''s about algorithmical design (and using words that probably aren''t real, like ''algorithmical'') and using variables and numbers to make things happen. So you would want to make a relatively simple scripting language, and you''d introduce new elements of the language as the user completes the "levels."

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Hi CGameProgrammer,
Very good question... at this point I''m leaning towards teaching logic and as the programmer progressed to higher levels start showing the "script" and even further into the game the programmer would actually write the script... It seems a natural progression...

As for creating a scripting language there are a couple C++ scripting engines available - You would just have to wire up the GUI to generate the code and push it through the interpreter... Of course, I always think things are easy... *LOL*


Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser †

When I was young I used LOGO, the thing where you give directions to draw lines to make neat patterns. It was fun and taught some very basics of programming. (I mean I was 5 or so)

Also I played a game on the Apple2 where you had these robots you had to wire to perform tasks. For example, you could wire a battery to a thruster and that thruster would fire. Then you could instead wire the batter to an OR gate and 2 thrusters, which would connect to some bumpers or something to make the robot bounce back and forth between 2 walls. (It got really complicated towards the end of the game)

It was all graphical and it was a game, as in fun, but it also provided a good foundation for programming and computer concepts.

...Robot Odyssey

And I think the time is soon ripe for a game like this. The difficulty is to make the experience fun and enjoyable though.

-=Lohrno

Hey man, check out the ibm.com site and try to find something called robocode. This is a game that requires you to code... only it''s in Java, not C++. A C++ version would be cool as hell...

lemme try to find a link...

Ahhh, Click here

Anyway, the game simply puts tanks on the screen. You have to write the AI for the tanks. The idea is to try to write the best AI. You can load tanks with other peoples AI and add and tank with your own AI. Run it and see who''s better. There is already some interesting stuff written out there for Robocode. If anything this will also give you some insight on game AI.

- Jay

"Strictly speaking, there is no need to teach the student, because the student himself is Buddha, even though he may not be aware of it." - Shunryu Suzuki

Get Tranced!

As someone pointed out, the problem with RoboCode or CoreWars or P-Robots or whatever is that they are for people who already KNOW how to program. They aren''t really for learning.

Robot Oddysee was cool because by the end it was basically programming, but programming wasn''t the entire point. Having FUN was the point. I would also point to Logo as a good example, it''s basically programming but the point is drawing pretty stuff.

Of course these games are meant for young audiences. For older audiences something like RoboCode might make sense if it was structured in the proper, tutorial-like way.

I''ve seen all of the "ROBO coding" games... I always include what is out there in any research that I do for a game concept.

I think I stated in my original post that this was not the type of game that I envisioned... I started programming at the age of 13 - how? I really don''t remember how I learened... how I trained my mind to logically break things down into smaller problems in an effort to complete the end task... Now, after all these years my mind just does this... so, what was it that got me to the place I am?

I''m sure that it could be possible to create a "game" that could be fun and at the same time be educational... I think there was a Star Wars game a few years ago that let you build a robot to perform certain task... Given a problem you chose the best ''parts'' and assembled the robot - was the game called "Droid Works" or something like that...

Anyway, I''m going to set aside some time in the coming weeks to outline just what I do envisage.

Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser †

I remember a game many years back on some of the 8 bit micro''s (Speccy, Oric Amstrad CPC and the like). I cant remember what it was called, but the principle was similar.

In this game you had to design and program the logic of an automated tank. The tank was then left to it''s own devices to defeat an (or group of) enemies.

As you progressed, the equipment available, and the corresponding programming code available expanded. Your goal each time was to create and program the tank so as it could successfully traverse the terrain and defeat any enemies it encounted.

Stephen

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Original post by Dak Lozar
Anyway, I''m going to set aside some time in the coming weeks to outline just what I do envisage.

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You should, it''s a good idea IMO.

Just a suggestion:
How about taking advantage of something that already exists. A lot of games have scripting systems for AI and storyline, etc. If you are a modder, you can write these scripts. Rather than putting it in the game technology for modders only, put it in as the primary game feature. For example, if it were an RTS, you''d have to program your units... or an RPG, you''d have to break into systems, read the code, figure out how it works and rewrite parts to benefit yourself. Also, restrict the size of code so that the player is forced to make their code modular... I can''t tell ya how many people I''ve worked with or had working for me that desperately need(ed) this lesson! =)

- Jay

"Strictly speaking, there is no need to teach the student, because the student himself is Buddha, even though he may not be aware of it." - Shunryu Suzuki

Get Tranced!

Aren''t there enough robot-programming games? Programming is for more than just AI, you know. I''d prefer to see something more original. How about a god-game where you are the "god" and you program to make stuff happen?

Well it''s hard for me to think of a good non-AI concept, but something non-Battlebots seems like the best approach. How bout programming the AI for a large group of people? Like a strategy game? You have say 200 people, and are facing off against someone else with a 200-person army, for example. You can''t command your units, but you write their AI before the battle, and then just watch the events unfold. That would be awesome. Or you can allow interactivity, allowing you to command your units if you wrote AI that has them react to things like you clicking on an enemy.

It reminds me of an idea I once had for a multiplayer RPG, in which necromancers would write the AI for their skeletons instead of commanding them. Something like that would be fun.

~CGameProgrammer( );

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Original post by CGameProgrammer
Aren''t there enough robot-programming games? Programming is for more than just AI, you know. I''d prefer to see something more original. How about a god-game where you are the "god" and you program to make stuff happen?

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Programming any kind of unit implies that they are somehow robotic or cyborg. As for the god concept, they would pretty much be programming the game. Limiting their power, this could be a cool concept. I''d like to see a world where everything is scripted. Bank transactions, public transportation lines, communications, televised broadcasting, etc. Then, you''d have to hack the right computers and modify the code to get a desired effect. Perhaps, the idea is to get into the cities core computer and bring down the corrupt government? Hmmm...

- Jay

"Strictly speaking, there is no need to teach the student, because the student himself is Buddha, even though he may not be aware of it." - Shunryu Suzuki

Get Tranced!