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the problem with teaching programming is bigger than boiler plate code to be honest. but what the author is doing is really appreciated! i feel like the abstra

the problem with teaching programming is bigger than boiler plate code to be honest. but what the author is doing is really appreciated! i feel like the abstraction is leaky though. why the person you are shielding from the boiler plate has to write on_mouse_down, on_mouse_up, clock.schedule_unique?! the problem with teaching programming is that people are given user interfaces that hide the fact that you "actually make your computer or phone do stuff". at least that's what i think the bigger issue is. back then when i discovered i could make the computer do things, i'd spent hours in the QBasic online manual, discovering new things i can show people.

zeta0134 7y ago
While I can certainly appreciate a desire to get down in the nuts and bolts of a programming problem, and really understand what you're doing, I don't think that's required to spark the joy of learning in a new student. No, for video games in particular, what seems to work most consistently is rapid iteration. How fast can the student go from idea in their head to their character doing that behavior on screen? That core loop is fascinating to a youngster, who immediately begins to piece together how Mario might run and jump, or a race car might move along a track, almost entirely on their own. To that end, there's a certain value in declaring that, "You know what, PyGame Zero's event loop is probably fine. Let it sweat the details, and we'll worry about writing the character.jump() function next." Another framework I love that works this way is Love2D, which targets Lua but has a similar approach: https://love2d.org/ https://love2d.org/ Sure it's not suitable for any project of decent complexity, but there's a reason we keep reaching for it during Ludum Dares, and any time we want to rapidly prototype an idea. It takes the least amount of effort of any tool I know to go from concept to prototype, and get the idea in playtesters hands so we know if it's worth doing properly. Getting to do that in Python sounds awesome, so kudos all around; this is neat stuff.
- Kwantuum 7y ago
  Depends on what you mean by decent complexity: https://lk-games.itch.io/citizen-of-nowhere https://lk-games.itch.io/citizen-of-nowhere This game is made using love2d

zeta0134 7y ago

While I can certainly appreciate a desire to get down in the nuts and bolts of a programming problem, and really understand what you're doing, I don't think that's required to spark the joy of learning in a new student. No, for video games in particular, what seems to work most consistently is rapid iteration. How fast can the student go from idea in their head to their character doing that behavior on screen? That core loop is fascinating to a youngster, who immediately begins to piece together how Mario might run and jump, or a race car might move along a track, almost entirely on their own. To that end, there's a certain value in declaring that, "You know what, PyGame Zero's event loop is probably fine. Let it sweat the details, and we'll worry about writing the character.jump() function next." Another framework I love that works this way is Love2D, which targets Lua but has a similar approach: https://love2d.org/ https://love2d.org/ Sure it's not suitable for any project of decent complexity, but there's a reason we keep reaching for it during Ludum Dares, and any time we want to rapidly prototype an idea. It takes the least amount of effort of any tool I know to go from concept to prototype, and get the idea in playtesters hands so we know if it's worth doing properly. Getting to do that in Python sounds awesome, so kudos all around; this is neat stuff.

Kwantuum 7y ago
Depends on what you mean by decent complexity: https://lk-games.itch.io/citizen-of-nowhere https://lk-games.itch.io/citizen-of-nowhere This game is made using love2d