Learning object-oriented design by creating games

Playing computer games is a popular recreational activity for young people. Creating a state-of-the-art commercial computer game is an incredibly difficult task. Writing a game like Pac-Man from scratch in a modern programming language is still difficult. Fortunately, several currently available tools make game creation easier. These tools can be used to create more complex games, but they offer only limited programming possibilities. Many similar packages exist. One such program is Game Maker, which is a rapid-application development tool. The Game Maker interface uses an object-oriented, event-driven approach. With Game Maker's drag-and-drop techniques, users can create games without writing a single line of code. But the program also includes an interpreted programming language. The program produces stand-alone games that can be distributed freely: a version of Game Maker, itself, is available for free as well.

Logo and Lego

Logo www.logosurvey.co.uk, and its many variants, provides the classic example of a programming language aimed at creating interest among youngsters. Primarily seen as a language to make drawings, with Logo the user steers a virtual turtle to draw shapes onscreen. Even the basic program can make fancy drawings this way, while modern versions extend Logo's possibilities considerably. But for today's users, spoiled by console and computer games, Logo is no longer flashy enough.