Tuesday, November 07, 2006
My Daughter, The Game Designer Superstar ... to be
A little over a month ago, I mentioned how my daughter was getting into developing games.
Just a little update - saving her money, she managed to pay her portion of the fee to buy RPG Maker XP. She's now devoting most of her computer time (at least from what I have seen) to making her dream game.
She's caught the game development bug, and it's stuck with her for over a month. I'm calling it a good thing.
Thanks to the tools she gets to use, her first games are a lot better than my first attempts. My first games were little text-adventures that had to fit in 1K of RAM. How much text-adventure can fit inside of 1K? Oh, let's see. About as much as this blog up to this paragraph. And a parser that could only read one-letter commands. Things got better when I upgraded to the Commodore 64, but even then I could only dream of making a game of the quality that she can create without a line of code.
She's got NPCs conversing with each other (and, of course, with the player), lots of combat and questing, and some kind of story arc that I'm only partially aware of, in full 640x480 graphical splendor. If it's not exactly a polished product with award-winning potential, it's at least a great experience for her.
And frankly, it looks better than my current game (the one with the exploding cows!) at this point. Bleah!
The ultimate high of game development is to have someone else play and enjoy your game. While right now she's getting a kick out of creation (which is a powerful rush in and of itself), I'd like to help her get to that higher stage. She does have a couple of friends she's coordinating with (one of whom has also jumped aboard the RPG Maker bandwagon), so at least she has a peer-group that can provide some support now.
But now I am debating how much parental guidance to I provide her at this point? Do I leave her mostly alone and in free-exploration mode, just letting her show off her creation with me from time to time, and offering her encouraging comments? Or do I take a more active role, offering suggestions and hints, and encouraging her to structure her efforts? I'm inclined to go with the former, to leave it as "play" instead of "work." But I don't know.
I guess I should probably ask her how much she wants me involved, huh? Assuming she knows, herself. I expect that in a few months, she may be able to teach ME a thing or two about game design.
(Vaguely) Related Mental Wanderings:
* Pre-Teen Game Designer Poised To Take Over The World
* How Do I Get Past The Harpies?
* Losing Your Limits Without Losing Your Mind
* Do Games Matter?
* How Do You Create "Fun"?
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:31 AM (Permalink)
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I think of it this way...
My kids like to draw and create their own things. Sometimes it is best to leave them to discover how to make those things. At some point, however, they start to show some real talent. This is where you ask if they would like some "lessons".
In the mean time, they get the thrill of learning on their own.
I learned how to get around my computer and using photoshop, MS Office, Frontpage, etc. by playing around with them. Occasionally (sp) I would get some hints from a sibling or my hubby...but only if I asked.
By doing it ourselves we "OWN" it.
It should be her game...that she OWNS...at least to start out.
My kids like to draw and create their own things. Sometimes it is best to leave them to discover how to make those things. At some point, however, they start to show some real talent. This is where you ask if they would like some "lessons".
In the mean time, they get the thrill of learning on their own.
I learned how to get around my computer and using photoshop, MS Office, Frontpage, etc. by playing around with them. Occasionally (sp) I would get some hints from a sibling or my hubby...but only if I asked.
By doing it ourselves we "OWN" it.
It should be her game...that she OWNS...at least to start out.
I'd probably leave her on her own, but you could always subtly influence her development by dropping books and/or tantalizing gamedev goodies within eyesight.
I say let her do her own thing for a while. She's probably going to plan and develop any number of games before she builds one that will be interesting to people other than herself and Elf Bumby. If she gets stuck and asks for help, fine--that's what parents are for. But I bet there are a lot of lessons you've learned about game development that would overwhelm any game she might produce at this point and turn it more into your game than hers--completely unintentionally, too.
Elf Bumby's free trial of RPG Maker just ran out. She's still got a long way to go before she saves her part of the purchase price. I'd feel sorrier for her if she were more willing to do extra chores for cash....
Elf Bumby's free trial of RPG Maker just ran out. She's still got a long way to go before she saves her part of the purchase price. I'd feel sorrier for her if she were more willing to do extra chores for cash....
# posted by 
: November 07, 2006 10:26 AM
: November 07, 2006 10:26 AM
I agree with the be patient and let her play. She's having a good time, and what she's created is cute. As she comes to understand more about story and expanding what she's doing she'll start asking for help in the areas where she needs it.
Though I blame her for MY late nights with RPGMaker. Hrmph!
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Though I blame her for MY late nights with RPGMaker. Hrmph!
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