I'd like to throw in a mention for LittleBigPlanet 2[1] on the PS3 as well. The first game in the series allowed users to create their own platforming levels us

I'd like to throw in a mention for LittleBigPlanet 2[1] on the PS3 as well. The first game in the series allowed users to create their own platforming levels using simple but powerful tools, which more talented creators used to build things like physical logic gates that allowed for more interactive creations. In LBP2, the developers embraced that side of the game by adding proper logic gates which could be packed into microchips, objects that allowed creators to read raw button inputs from the controller, and so on. People have gotten incredibly creative with those tools, going so far as to build everything from custom games to ray tracers in it. Also the visual style of that game is just incredibly charming, far cry from the aesthetic of most modern AAA games. Another worthy mention is SpaceChem[2], a game that revolves around bonding elements together using a deceptively sophisticated visual programming language. It's not really directly about programming, more of a puzzle game really, but I feel like it uses the same part of my brain that programming does and it'd be a good way to get people into the coding mindset. [1]: http://www.littlebigplanet.com/games/littlebigplanet-2 http://www.littlebigplanet.com/games/littlebigplanet-2 [2]: http://www.spacechemthegame.com http://www.spacechemthegame.com