Richard Gaskin and Janis:
There seems to be enough interest in creating a tool that allows people
to create serious, engaging and funny software products that are
primarily visual in nature, yet require the user to solve problems. It
is the hope of many that this tool would be also visual in nature, not
requiring the user to engage in any large quantity of coding. Nearly
every product that has been created to provide a visual solution always
seems to have, as an alterior motive, the intention of dragging the user
back into the realm of learning to code using some traditional
programming language. Why not create a very powerful tool that can
really produce real software, focused on the type that is visual in
nature - interactive graphical applications and games - that does not
have, as part of its goal, teaching the user how to program with
traditional languages? A specialized and fun tool, yet not frivolous
and childish in design.
When developers go about the task of producing products like this, they
usually resort to one analogy and not several - like only flowchart
logic design, or purely drag and drop iconic systems. I think the whole
problem can be addressed by making a "construction system" that
parallels what a person would use if trying to create the same system in
the real world.
I recently visited several sites where folks are completely obsessed and
spending lots of money and time building extremely complex and
interactive physical systems, on a par with any high tech factory, all
out of lego parts. If you push this switch, this set of behaviors
ensues - if this object touches that object, this whole circuit of
activity takes place, and so on. These physical demonstrations show
cause and effect reactions, random behavior, physics, timed behavior and
loops - all the things that make up most entertaining games. What this
also demonstrated to me was that very complex systems, that are
interactive, can be made of many smaller, non-complex parts - simple parts.
If the problem of developing a visual programming tool were addressed in
a way that it would specifically parallel a physical construction
system, capable of creating incredibly complex interactions and
environments - all in 3D - yet, any person of any skill level could
begin to build with such a system, and new subsystems could be built on
these elementary building skills, until, finally a complex system would
emerge from the sum of the parts - we would have a really winning
creation tool. It would be conceivable to create things like robots
demonstrating A.I., as well as gaming systems with characters that
demonstrated A.I., and environments that react intelligently with
encounters, therein. Such a graphical development system would have the
added advantage of having a set of capabilities and functions that are
not easily reproduceable in the real world, parallel system. And, the
parts would not have to be as restrictive as a lego set, but could take
many shapes, suitable for creating nearly any graphical, interactive
situation. And the best part about all of it is that it would be fun -
the process of making things would be fun and the process of "playing"
the completed project would also be fun. Fun for the whole family!
If the underlying constructs of the whole system were based in a
language like Revolution, which is, at least approachable to most
people, modifications and extensions could then be accessible to
everyone with programming skills. I'm sure that not everything can be
made to specifically resemble a "part" in the parallel real world
system, and that is where some other form of logic connectivity would
need to enter in. But, I think, even that could take the form of
"electric wires" or "logic rays", that network everything together.
Think of it . . . , a living, moving, interactive development
environment that makes sense - All In Glorious 3D!
But, I'm afraid it would be up to guys like Richard Gaskin, etc. to lay
the initial framework for such a thing, at least. I'd be happy to
assist, as I'm sure others would be, with any kind of 3D or 2D graphic
and animation work, and to test any new "inventions" that are part of
the development process. A project like this might even help a great
many people, like me, to come to grips with Transcript in a tangible
way. Then we would have the best of all possible worlds.
What do you guys think?
Greg Smith
_______________________________________________
use-revolution mailing list
use-revolution@lists.runrev.com
Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription
preferences:
http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
