Kodu

Xbox 360, Windows

Teaches: programming, creativity

CTR Review

Kodu is a set of visual programming tools, like MIT'S Scratch, for XBox 360 or Windows. The icon-based language breaks programs into pages, which are broken down into rules, conditions and actions. Programs are expressed in physical terms, using concepts like vision, hearing, and time, to control character behavior. While not as general-purpose as classical programming languages, Kodu can express advanced game design concepts in a simple, direct, and intuitive manner. It runs on either an XBox 360 or a Window-based computer, using a game controller or mouse/keyboard combination. Features include a bridge and path builder, and a terrain editor that lets you create worlds of arbitrary shape and size. Up to 20 characters can have different abilities. Kodu can be found in the "Indie" section of the XBox Live library. A limited preview version is available for free. The full version costs 460 points. See samples by searching on Kodu on YouTube, or visiting http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/.