Boku: a game-like programming software for kids

Most people are unaware of this but while the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007 is wrapping up in San Francisco, Microsoft Corporation is planning its next big move in its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Anyone heard of Microsoft Research TechFest before?

Well, it is actually a strategic forum among Microsoft researchers hailing from  labs in China, England, India, and the U.S. The TechFest focuses on emerging hardware and software technologies. Concerning the forum’s UI, Graphics, and Media gathering, Microsoft Research Senior Vice President Rick Rashid showcased Xbox 360-compatible application Boku.

Boku: Lightweight Programming for Kids was designed, as explained by Rashid, to give children an early exposure to the principles of software creative programming. Instead of textual language or wiring diagrams, Boku utilizes simple behavior cards that enable a virtual robot to navigate a 3D gaming world and accomplish specific tasks.

“It’s very much like playing a game. But it’s a serious endeavor that we believe will begin to interest kids in programming and eventually make them more comfortable tackling the really big challenges in computer science,” remarked Rashid during TechFest. Even the image from gaming site Team Xbox (see above image) shows how newbie-friendly Boku is.

Anyway, aside from the above mentioned feature, Boku also gives users exposure to behavior arbitration, generality, representation of an abstract state, real-time experimentation and feedback, simulation, sensors, physics, and message passing. Everything within Boku can be controlled via an Xbox 360 controller.

Most people are unaware of this but while the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007 is wrapping up in San Francisco, Microsoft Corporation is planning its next big move in its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Anyone heard of Microsoft Research TechFest before?

Well, it is actually a strategic forum among Microsoft researchers hailing from  labs in China, England, India, and the U.S. The TechFest focuses on emerging hardware and software technologies. Concerning the forum’s UI, Graphics, and Media gathering, Microsoft Research Senior Vice President Rick Rashid showcased Xbox 360-compatible application Boku.

Boku: Lightweight Programming for Kids was designed, as explained by Rashid, to give children an early exposure to the principles of software creative programming. Instead of textual language or wiring diagrams, Boku utilizes simple behavior cards that enable a virtual robot to navigate a 3D gaming world and accomplish specific tasks.

“It’s very much like playing a game. But it’s a serious endeavor that we believe will begin to interest kids in programming and eventually make them more comfortable tackling the really big challenges in computer science,” remarked Rashid during TechFest. Even the image from gaming site Team Xbox (see above image) shows how newbie-friendly Boku is.

Anyway, aside from the above mentioned feature, Boku also gives users exposure to behavior arbitration, generality, representation of an abstract state, real-time experimentation and feedback, simulation, sensors, physics, and message passing. Everything within Boku can be controlled via an Xbox 360 controller.