Most children who learn to code will not work in the video games industry. So, is it not worth learning to code by making video games?
It's a fair question, but the benefits to your child learning to code by making video games might surprise you!
Learning to code through developing games can really hook your child on coding and teach them skills that can be useful throughout their whole lifetime! But why would this be the case?
Pre-established Relationship
The first reason why learning to code through making video games is beneficial is that most children enjoy playing video games! This gives them a natural curiosity around how video games work. This can help to engage them in learning to code and help them to understand coding concepts quicker!
Many coders begin learning to program because they want to make video games! Learning to make games can be the key motivation for children to enjoy learning to code. Taking advantage of this motivation can mean children are more excited to learn to code and practice the skills they have learnt.
Because of children's exposure to video games, they can also understand concepts of coding quicker through developing video games. They can more quickly work with numbers in code through a video game score. The different ways to input to a computer are more obvious to them because of their use of video game controllers. Conditions in code can be explained to them through things they understand like characters colliding with each other. They can take their knowledge of video games and use that to supercharge their coding understanding!
Their already existing relationship with video games can help to motivate them to learn to code and can help to accelerate their coding ability!
But if they never work in the video game industry is learning this wasted? Not at all!
Multi-Discipline Learning
Video games are not just made up of code. Many different skills go into making your own video games. And by learning to develop games children can learn useful skills across a wide variety of disciplines that can be used in many different industries.
Digital Art & Graphics
A key part of video games is graphics: 2D images, 3D models, special effects, and more! By learning to develop games children learn how to create these graphics using digital art tools. The skills they learn using these tools will transfer to other industries such as graphic design or even video production.
Sound & Music
Video games are made much more interesting through sound! Learning to make games often involves making sound effects and even composing your own music. Learning how to create and manipulate these sound effects can be very exciting for children. This could even unlock an interest in music for the first time and motivate your child to learn other new skills!
Advanced Mathematics
The code to develop video games often requires advanced mathematics. This can include algebra, geometry, trigonometry, vectors and matrices. Developing video games can give children a practical use case for many mathematical concepts. This can change what sometimes seems dull for children, to useful and exciting!
Unique Problem Solving
Coding for video games involves a different set of problem-solving skills from other coding projects.
The code for video games runs very differently than for websites or for apps. Video game code must constantly check and update data and often draw the characters to the screen. This can lead to very different challenges to solve - and can really help your child develop a versatile, creative approach to problem solving that stays with them long after the game is finished.
Spatial Reasoning
Video games are often built around either a 2D or 3D world. Through playing and developing video games children naturally learn and understand spatial reasoning. They begin to think about how a character should move, or that two objects cannot occupy the same space and what should happen if that is the case.
While playing games can aid understanding these concepts subconsciously, developing a game makes this understanding explicit in their minds. This spatial thinking can aid them in fields such as engineering, design or even surgery.
Through learning to develop video games your child is equipped with problem solving skills that go far beyond just game development and programming. These are skills that will serve them well far beyond the screen.
How to Foster These Skills in Your Child
What if your child's passion for gaming could become the thing that sparked a lifelong love of creating?
However, while many children would love to create their own games they can be proud of, learning the skills needed on their own can be challenging. As parents you might want to help foster this interest, but you may not have the understanding or time to help your child realise their desire to develop games!
That is why we at Head Start Coding teach classes that will help your child learn to program their own video games. We bring the technical knowledge and teaching experience, so your child doesn't have to figure it out alone.
For younger children our Scratch lessons let them bring their own game ideas to life - no prior experience needed and take home games they have built themselves!
For our older students lessons in Python can offer the foundational skills of programming with written code - And then our Pico-8 school holiday code camp can provide the practical development skills for programming video games by building a video game demo that they can play themselves!
