3 ms·

I'm trying to get my kids to play Human Resource Machine. I hate the name but the game is okay. Because it's basically drag and drop assembly language the amoun

by dajt 9y ago

I'm trying to get my kids to play Human Resource Machine. I hate the name but the game is okay. Because it's basically drag and drop assembly language the amount of steps for the challenges quickly rises. That's a bit of a shame, but the upside is it does sort of teach how a primitive computer would work at a low level for a kid who was grabbed by it. The blog author and a commenter make a good point about how back in the day getting the computer to do just about anything was thrilling, whereas now expectations are a lot higher but so is the knowledge and effort required to make that happen. Switching on a computer and getting nothing but a ready prompt somehow made it easier (or more necessary?) to make your own fun.

eddieroger 9y ago
Definitely necessary. I remember those days, and the realization that I could run an existing program, or I could sit and make my own, and the latter was pretty appealing to me. I picked up Human Resource Machine when it came to the Nintendo Switch a few months ago, and I loved it pretty immediately. I think it does a great job of abstracting out the fact that you're writing assembly, masked by their very dark sense of humor (Little Inferno, anyone?). Whenever one of my friends (other grown-ups, not even kids) say things similar to wishing they knew how to program, I suggest they pick the game up and give it a try. It's like jumping in the deep end, but does a good job of showing how to think like a computer would think.
- dajt 9y ago
  Yeah, it's more for grown-ups who don't know how to code. One of my sons is doing pretty well but I'm keeping a few levels ahead to see what's coming and I'm not sure he'll grok indirect addressing all that easily! Another son is going through Swift Playgrounds and finding that easier to understand. He couldn't get HRM at all but immediately understood what simple functions were for in Playgrounds.

by dajt 9y ago

eddieroger 9y ago

Definitely necessary. I remember those days, and the realization that I could run an existing program, or I could sit and make my own, and the latter was pretty appealing to me. I picked up Human Resource Machine when it came to the Nintendo Switch a few months ago, and I loved it pretty immediately. I think it does a great job of abstracting out the fact that you're writing assembly, masked by their very dark sense of humor (Little Inferno, anyone?). Whenever one of my friends (other grown-ups, not even kids) say things similar to wishing they knew how to program, I suggest they pick the game up and give it a try. It's like jumping in the deep end, but does a good job of showing how to think like a computer would think.

dajt 9y ago
Yeah, it's more for grown-ups who don't know how to code. One of my sons is doing pretty well but I'm keeping a few levels ahead to see what's coming and I'm not sure he'll grok indirect addressing all that easily! Another son is going through Swift Playgrounds and finding that easier to understand. He couldn't get HRM at all but immediately understood what simple functions were for in Playgrounds.