A call to arms: Why every kid (and kid at heart) should write an iPhone game

No, not iPhone games. We should be encouraging kids to program for ecosystems that are free to enter, and that don't censor apps for disagreeing with their delicate sensibilities.

I agree that it's a great practice to make games, but there's definitely no reason to specifically state iPhone games, or even mobile games. There are tons of great libraries for building desktop games that are extremely accessible for newcomers, like Love2D and GameMaker.<p>The goal for building a game should be learning design, time management, and discipline. I think the technical aspect is very overstated. I mean, knowing the basics is important, but anything after that is something people should be able to figure out on their own. The technical skill required for creating a simple game is very basic - the most difficult part is learning how to finish a project in time, how to stay motivated, and how to design a fun product.

Why not an Android app instead?<p>To develop an iPhone game you need a relatively modern Apple desktop/laptop (at most 2 year old if you plan to run xcode 4.5, thus fairly expensive) and an iOS device (the cheapest you could go would likely be a 4th gen used iPod, still somewhat expensive) + a yearly $100 license (not sure if this is waived for students?). You also end up learning a somewhat insular language with a ton of idiosyncrasies (Smalltalk on top of C with a somewhat uncommon take on memory management).<p>I feel like you get a lot more bang for your buck with Java and the ability to develop from any platform out there. An old Ubuntu box will do just fine, or Windows for that matter.

If you're a kid and you want to develop a game use what you've already got: JavaScript and your browser.<p>Much as I dislike the language it will run anywhere and you won't have to fork over $ for gear and silly licenses to deploy. Anybody in the whole world can instantly play your game if they have web access if you upload it to some public page.<p>Let's not push kids to closed off, for-pay eco-systems.

I wanted to join the website but it forced me to log in and register with facebook. Which I loathe. Please put in another option.

Helicopter? This is the problem with the App store - too many clones of old flash games that have been around for ages. I'm sorry but cloning a game that already exists certainly shows good timing and business sense but is not the same as a call to arms to make things.

I have to disagree here. If Obj-C was my introduction to CS/coding as a teenager, I'd turn around, and run away as far as possible (like I did when I was introduced to C as a teenager). Now, Ruby (or Python, JS, etc.)...that's another story altogether...

It's so awesome that this is viable again. I started out by writing video games when I was 16, too. Back then I used BASIC &#38; assembly language.<p>I didn't get $35K or groupies, though. I got about $200 a game from a disk-of-the-month club service for them, which was "real money" to a 16 year old farm boy in the 80s...

Why make more iPhone games ? Honestly restricting yourself to using touch screen controls and making games for under-powered hardware is hardly gratifying - Make games for desktop, rather. There's so much more you can do visually and artistically speaking on a big screen with real controls. Plus, the iPhone market being flooded with games is hardly a good place to make your app shine. You will more likely be lost in the ever-growing ocean of crap.

The idea of getting kids to learn to do mobile games is commendable.<p>But getting their parents to spend €1000 in the Mac, €100 in an Apple Developer and €389 (+ 2 year contract) for the iPhone is just too much.<p>Specially when many countries have an average income of around €500 euros.<p>Kids should learn using open systems that don't cost their parents an arm and a leg to pay for them.

Love the idea. I'm not a game designer and I would only put myself in the hobbyist-gamer category, but I'm always so impressed by well-designed games.<p>I've played a ton of different games (board games, Magic, card games, RPGs, shooters, city-building, etc) and have even tried to create simple games in the past. What I found the most challenging and exciting was how to get all the different aspects of a game to come together. Top games today are probably made by specialists (I'm guessing) with someone who focuses on story or design or power balance or gameplay, etc. When I was a kid trying to put together all these things myself, I found it to be a really exciting and fun way to use my brain.<p>I guess I disagree that the reason kids (and kids at heart) should try building a game is to "build a product, make money and make people all around the world just a little bit happier." I think the reason they should build a game is to practice doing different types of critical thinking. But maybe it's hard to convince a kid to build a game with that kind of reason. :)

At a young age, if you create something and get really positive feedback from someone you don't know (even if there is negative feedback as well), like he did, it has a huge effect on how you spend your time. Video games seem boring compared to making people happy through creating.

Great article! I too wrote an iPhone game[1] while in high school (2 years ago during sophomore year) and while I didn't make $35k, the game did get downloaded close to 600,000 times while it was free. It was an extremely valuable experience that I learned a lot from.<p>It always amazed me how easy the App Store made it to access such a vast market and that a game I built in my free time was being downloaded by people in countries as far away as Kazakhstan.<p>1. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drop!/id415884044?mt=8" rel="nofollow">http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drop!/id415884044?mt=8</a>

The true title of this article:<p>"Why every kid should buy an iPhone and iMac, because that's the only way you can develop iPhone games"<p>No thank you, Apple.