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  • I understand this very well. I've also created a tool (a virtual fantasy console in my case) to teach my kids programming, called MEG4.

    Then I've created an engine in it to create very similar text-based adventure games like this one. I've also used a similar low-level language to describe the game logic. Later I've ported the engine into a native app (Win, Linux, WASM) with more features, like point'n'click interface (the bytecode remained backward compatible, it can play games created with the fantasy console).

    https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/meg4_advgame

    As a demonstration, I've ported a classic C= 64 game, you can try it out here (runs in the browser too). This game was a pretty big deal in my country in the '80s, and its creator was legendary.

    https://bztsrc.gitlab.io/meg4_advgame/idoregesz.html

    The description of the language, the bytecode, and the engine et al can be found here https://bztsrc.gitlab.io/meg4_advgame/ for those who are interested. The C= 64 game's source also available in the repo.

    Full disclosure: my solution is 100% AI-free.

    by skrellm
  • Related: I just discovered this weekend that you can trivially flash Lego power hubs and then program them from a browser via pybricks.

    I don’t want my 7yo to have a phone or iPad, so he’s not been able to use the PoweredUp hubs unless I’m there and can lend him my phone :(

    But he has a nixos laptop, and after flashing the hubs he can now program Lego technic with Scratch, no iPad or phone needed :)

    by jakewins
  • I loved MUDs as a kid, and really do miss the sense of immersion and depth that came from joining a long established server and just exploring.
    by moffers
  • The Yoink used in the end was a word/action I first came across in Ultima Online when players would yoink steal an item from another players backpack.

    Curious if that’s coincidence or if players of UO brought that over most likely from MUDs.

    by mentos
  • MUDs are such a wonderful way to introduce kids to "slow gaming", if one can call it that. I grew up with MUDs; they are a cherished memory of mine.

    There's a lot of fun "lego-style" creativity to be had in designing rooms, mobs and coming up with grand area designs.

    Cool idea.

    by mickeyp
  • CircleMUD was my first intro to C and network programming. I was at a computer camp for 8-10 year olds that taught BASIC. One of the counsellors was doing their undergrad at caltech and pulled the students who were bored by BASIC into a separate group to learn C by editing CircleMUD.

    Hacking up a pre-existing MUD was the perfect mix of immediacy / interactivity and fun to hook me. So thankful to that guy, wherever he is. He probably changed the course of my life.

    by rryan
  • Have been teaching coding to kids professionally for a while now. Ultimately what works is what the kid will engage in. Some kids bounce off of Scratch completely but then get totally hooked on text programming. I've been following what little has been published around teaching coding with AI, I'd say it's inconclusive at best which also tracks with my experience. We don't totally ignore it, since it is a standard development tool now, but if the environment is not tightly constrained it can be detrimental, it can quickly spit out a bunch of code that makes the student very overwhelmed.

    You'd be surprised what kids can make once you give them the basic building blocks: https://jump.academy/projects/fruit-drop

    Sometimes we will let them use AI to make a focused change to their project, like "make the character do a flip when he jumps", then they're getting a fairly controlled diff surrounded by a ton of context, which I think really does boost their coding "literacy". I'd rather my students be able to read code well than write a for loop from memory, so I've found it useful in that sense.

    by njoyablpnting
  • comment section is quite critical/harsh? for no good reason?

    I think this is an awesome project for them both. And it's totally understandable to use an LLM for the base project as it's a 'fun' thing from the read. it doesn't look like it's trying to compete with anything....

    The kid can learn within an environment created by parent, so they can also collaborate on improving that environment, while the kid also has their own learning _within_ that environment.

    This seems like a wonderfully geeky adventure to go on if ur kid enjoys it :D love it. hope it will spark some cool interactions between them and make some epic memories :)

    Also, maybe people forget how it was like back in the day.

    I am not _too_ old - pentium 1 was my first PC. I learned making games in PASCAL, QBASIC and later custom C implementations that came with like 'gamemaker ' CDs etc. this was all very complicated to learn at a young age... Had to get many books and things (no internet!) at the PC shop to try and get my head around it. Never quite did until much later in my life!

    Sure things like Scratch exists, but this beauty of this one is that this one is _theirs_. Surely we can recognize the enjoyment that might bring to a parent and kids' lives? Learning is a bonus! Not everything is about being technically the best of the best -_- stop being Marines at everyhting. We're not at war with eachother over who writes the best code.

    Good use of LLM technology to make a project in my mind. props!

    by saidnooneever

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