Hi Clare,
I have been offline for a bit pulling my computer apart to do some
repairs so I've come in on the thread a bit late.
Ignore the cute comments about people decrying "programming without
programming". I doubt those people still program by loading memory
locations with binary numbers of assembly codes (like I used to) -- they
take the "easy" way out, and of course it can't be programming if it is
easy. :)
I applaud your efforts to lure kids into programming this way, and more
importantly raising their sights to do stuff that helps change the world
for the better.
You might want to look at RenPy
http://renpy.org
It is a python framework for creating so-called visual novels or Ren'ai
(Japanese for "romance") stories. Renpy is very easy to use, though it
isn't point-and-click. My 10-year-old niece is working on a story she's
creating in renpy. The easiest way to use renpy is to pull apart the two
examples that come with it.
Most ren'ai stories deal with personal relationships rather than action
oriented killing games and perhaps because of that quite a lot of women
and girls are involved, both as audience and creators.
Download some of the free renai stories from
http://renai.us/
There is an active and helpful renpy community at
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/
Hope this helps,
- Miriam
Clare Richardson wrote:
Hello all,
I'm new to this list, so I'll introduce myself. I'm currently working on
Project IT Girl, a program that teaches 60 high school girls in Austin,
Texas, about how they can change the world through the use of
technology. This year, Project IT Girls learn basic programming through
designing and developing their own unique educational games written with
Python and **Pygame**!
For the next 2 - 3 months, the girls will be fleshing out their game
idea. Some girls are designing games directly related to school
subjects: astronomy, chemistry, multiplication, algebra, etc. But MOST
of the girls are interested in educating children about more social
issues: fuel conservation, recycling, AIDS testing, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.
We have an IMMEDIATE need to create game frameworks on top of Pygame for
several game genres (maze game, adventure game, arcade game, etc) that
can be easily used by budding programmers creating their first Pygame
project. Over 90% of our girls have zero programming experience and, to
be honest, not much interest in programming. Their main interest is in
creating a product that makes a difference. So, we want to make it as
easy as possible for them to succeed in making their games. I've taken a
look at the libraries on the Pygame website and I can't find anything
that fits our needs, so we need you to...
JOIN OUR PROJECT!!!
We need YOUR Pygame expertise and time to make this happen!! If you're
interested in working on this in the next 3 months, PLEASE let me know!
We have FUNDING we can put towards it, it's for a great cause, and it
will help to broaden the Pygame community. What's stopping you from
helping??
Thanks,
Clare Richardson
Technology and Program Coordinator
Girlstart
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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A life! Cool! Where can I download one of those from?
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Website: http://miriam-english.org
Blog: http://www.livejournal.com/users/miriam_e/
