Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

1

Scratch

This ! Learning to code will come after, spending time with your son writing down ideas might be more fun at first and it's a good time to teach him that games are thoughts first and then coded after. I would have recommended Scratch [1] for a first introduction instead of hoping into code right away, but since he is 9yo he will most likely want to hop on big game engine like he sees his favorite youtubers doing. So while you guys are thinking about ideas, you should look up and compare engine in this thread and learn one, then teach him and make the game/prototype together later. [1] - https://scratch.mit.edu/.

#Kids Education #Programming #Coding 557 social mentions

2

RPG in a Box

Starting with 2d games is very good advice however if the child is mostly interested in 3d, well not the most helpful advice. Some people here forget that children are way more tolerant of not understanding things than adults are. They just want to get a quick taste not necessary dedicate their life to the study of game development. I think something like RPG in a Box https://rpginabox.com/ is nice if the child likes Minecraft-style graphics. Also it is worth checking out if modding an existing games is something that might be of interest. Also blender is perfect, as it allows to focus on certain aspects on modeling first and in has an amazing game engine that can be solely driven by logic bricks: https://upbge.org/#/ Still, I think even something like Unreal should not be ruled out if the child is dead set on making a "real" game (9 years is a bit pushing it admittedly with help it might work out). For a visually-motivated child that has access to beefy computer, Unreal is the perfect tool to get things done early and fast. Load the starter template and they have a character they can walk around with in the first minute. Grab some free-for-the-month asset packs and they can make decent looking levels in a day or two that they can show friends and be proud of. And if they get to the point of needing logic, the visual scripting language is more than enough to make complete games in it. Unreal is a monster of complexity but but perfect for just hacking together a quick asset-flip demo one can feel good about. They will learn about the realities of game dev soon enough, let them have some fun. Also, if the child is the kind to need a more focused approach, blender is a nice choice.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 1 social mentions

3

GameMaker Studio

I am no game developer but have over the past few years played around with GameMaker and their studio software[0]. I would imagine it to be one of the easiest ways to get started with making a 2D game. Then there is also the option of not jumping directly into the coding bit, and rather cultivate in your son the ability to do on paper designs first. This is a skill that would probably benefit him later in life as it is too often the case that we (software developers) get hyped for the act of developing, that we haven't decided well enough WHAT it is and HOW we should be developing. Sounds like you and your son have a fun time ahead of you. Good luck, and have fun! [0]: https://gamemaker.io/en.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 36 social mentions

4

Roblox Studio

My kids were able to make complex 3D games at 9yo with very little help using Roblox Studio. It’s free. https://roblox.com/create Disclaimer: I work for Roblox Corp.

#Game Engine #Game Development #3D Game Engine 3 social mentions

5

NetLogo

#Technical Computing #Numerical Computation #3D 15 social mentions

6

LOVE 2D

I've built a few games with my son over the years. The fun part for us was all about fast iteration, and then laughing at the bugs together. There are some other recommendations here for how to approach 3d, and he is specifically asking for 3d -- but I want to put in one more pitch for 2d: the fun-to-tedium ratio can be much higher. I wonder if you could spend some time prototyping some of his ideas in LÖVE https://love2d.org/ -- if you show him the smallest sketch of something working, he might have an idea about what to add next. Many years ago, on a flight, we went from 0 to game before we landed (with no experience).

#Game Development #Game Engine #2D Game Engine 181 social mentions

7

Triplex

Do you have any web development experience? React Three Fiber + https://triplex.dev is a powerful combo that you can do cool things with. Albeit it is coding!

#Video #Transcription #Image Editing 1 social mentions

Whatever platform/engine(s) you end up trying, you both might enjoy looking through the game assets that Kenney shares with the world for free: * https://kenney.nl/assets * https://kenney.nl/starter-kits The asset range includes 2D & 3D and in a variety of graphical fidelity/style from 1-bit to low-poly--including sets which are designed to work together. The "Starter Kits" are a more recent development which aim to get you something working out of the box with Godot which you can then customise: https://github.com/KenneyNL/Starter-Kit-3D-Platformer ).

#Social Media Apps #Music #Game Development 22 social mentions

9

Godot Engine

Godot [1] is a very nice game engine. There's a game on Itch.io that teaches the scripting language it uses [2], and a ton of great tutorials on YouTube for beginners and experts alike. [1]: https://godotengine.org/.

#Game Development #Game Engine #3D Game Engine 446 social mentions

Https://arcade.makecode.com/ Is great fun to use and made for kids. The forum (forum.makecode.com) is well moderated and safe too.

#Game Development #Game Engine #Development 3 social mentions

11

Pyxel

#Game Engine #Game Development #Graph Databases 26 social mentions

12

TIC-80

Or the more free TIC-80. I have paid for both, but never used either enough to be able to say one or the other has any significant advantages. https://tic80.com/.

#Game Development #Game Engine #2D Game Engine 66 social mentions

13

Glicol

I picked up LOGO when I was 6 and leant Pascal and C later. I didn't program for a few years because I wasn't interested in competitions. So I think interest is the most important, otherwise it will be easy to get lost and give up. Later, I became very interested in programming, mainly because I came into contact with music technology. I think since your child is interested in game development, it is a good choice to start step by step. For example, starting with threejs. I also recommend learning Rust and Bevy so you learn the underlying layers and ECS. Last but not least, although it's not related to games dev but I sincerely invite you and your son to try Glicol (https://glicol.org), the project that I am developing.

#Music Generation #Music Tools #3D 12 social mentions

14

Upbge

Starting with 2d games is very good advice however if the child is mostly interested in 3d, well not the most helpful advice. Some people here forget that children are way more tolerant of not understanding things than adults are. They just want to get a quick taste not necessary dedicate their life to the study of game development. I think something like RPG in a Box https://rpginabox.com/ is nice if the child likes Minecraft-style graphics. Also it is worth checking out if modding an existing games is something that might be of interest. Also blender is perfect, as it allows to focus on certain aspects on modeling first and in has an amazing game engine that can be solely driven by logic bricks: https://upbge.org/#/ Still, I think even something like Unreal should not be ruled out if the child is dead set on making a "real" game (9 years is a bit pushing it admittedly with help it might work out). For a visually-motivated child that has access to beefy computer, Unreal is the perfect tool to get things done early and fast. Load the starter template and they have a character they can walk around with in the first minute. Grab some free-for-the-month asset packs and they can make decent looking levels in a day or two that they can show friends and be proud of. And if they get to the point of needing logic, the visual scripting language is more than enough to make complete games in it. Unreal is a monster of complexity but but perfect for just hacking together a quick asset-flip demo one can feel good about. They will learn about the realities of game dev soon enough, let them have some fun. Also, if the child is the kind to need a more focused approach, blender is a nice choice.

#Game Engine #Game Development #3D Game Engine 5 social mentions

15

Snap

There is also Snap! (https://snap.berkeley.edu/) which starts very much like Scratch but has higher ceiling.

#API Tools #Developer Tools #Web Frameworks 27 social mentions

16

Medium

Hope this help you plan out budget of your video game project. ;-) How Much Does It Cost to Make Unreal Engine Games? - medium https://medium.com/@burnsana2/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-unreal-engine-games-dd1f8e7214ce Metal Gear Solid 5 Fox Engine Tech Demo - youtube.

#Blogging #Blogging Platform #CMS 2190 social mentions