I have a Mac and Claude Code Max and Codex, so I am equipped to create AI-slop. I’m happy to do some setup and pre-wiring. Mainly I want her to understand some basics and feel the joy of building something visual in a few hours. Based on historical experience it will have to be something with pink unicorns.
I tried Godot, but it felt like too much complexity for this use case. If we do a bit of pair programming then using Godot would take too long to iterate or explain concepts. I looked at https://github.com/Jibby-Games/Flappy-Race for instance but do not think I could make that work with her in an afternoon or two. I was also unsure how to get or manage game assets.
Would you recommend Godot, Scratch, PICO-8, JS in the browser (p5.js), or something else?
Especially interested in replies from people who’ve actually made games with kids around this age.
We did it with cardboard, poster board, markers, tape, etc, and built a real-life model/mock-up of the game first. Then we let them play it and only when they actually liked it did we code it.
I found that while some kids want to learn to code, most kids don't care about the code and want to make a game. So if you jump straight to code, you actually make them lose interest. Make the coding a phase 2 once they already know the game is fun.
Two approaches: either build as many games as you can, or create a couple physics-based games that can be dissected and modified for insight on mechanics.
Penguin Jumper and Tower Smash highlight Scratch's ability to simulate game physics. They are from Code Your Own Games! Twenty Games to Create with Scratch (2016) by Max Wainewright.
Likely not much can be done on a weekend versus months; regardless of the technology, have at least one "Wow, amazing" thing from community or Steam to show what's possible.