Kodu, the Microsoft Research visual game programming language targeted at beginning programmers, now available for PC’s (Tech Preview)

Channel 10 - Larry Larsen - Kodu Now Available for PC

“You may remember seeing the Microsoft Research project Kodu for Xbox last year. The game allows programming novices to develop robust games on the Xbox and control interactions between the characters. Now the PC version is available in beta form which is great news as most schools don't have Xbox 360's.

With Kodu, the idea is to give kids a way to accomplish something they didn't think they would be able to do while strengthening their design, math, and problem-solving skills. …”

KODO Game Lab

“What is Kodu?

Kodu is a visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone.

Key Features

Kodu provides an end-to-end creative environment for designing, building, and playing your own new games.

• High-level language incorporates real-world primitives: collision, color, vision
• Runs on Xbox 360 and PC
• Interactive terrain editor
• Bridge and path builder
• Terrain editor - create worlds of arbitrary shape and size
• 20 different characters with different abilities

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Announcing: Technical Preview of Kodu for the PC

Kodu for the PC incorporates several features that have been requested by schools in our early access program:

• Mouse and Keyboard user interface – game controller no longer a requirement
• Key improvements to the programming language
• A game export feature which allows users save games as documents that can be emailed or placed on servers for sharing
• Support for a broad range of hardware (an objective of the technical preview is to find hardware configurations that need additional work)
• Easy installation process for lab environments

The programming environment also runs on the Xbox, allowing rapid design iteration using only a game controller for input. Kodu Game Lab can be found in the Xbox Marketplace in the Indie Games channel.

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Sounds like something fun to play with during those long meetings… err… um… I mean… um… on the weekends at home… yeah, that… ;)