Stagecast Creator 1.0
© 1999 Stagecast Software, Inc.
Please see version 2.0. This innovative new programming language, originally code named "Cocoa" (a project of Apple computer), gives children the tools for free experimentation with the rules of programming, animation and the sequencing of graphics and sounds. Unfortunately, our review of version 1.0 uncovered quirks you should consider before spending the $59.95 ($3595.00 for the school license). The good news is that you can download a free sample version at www.stagecast.com to see for yourself. Starting with a blank 17 x 17 grid screen, you can choose backgrounds and characters from a library, or use a Picture Editor to make your own. The idea is that you can place a butterfly, a molecule, or a frog, for instance, on the grid, and then give your characters one or more rules to follow. For example, to make your frog hop across the screen, you highlight the frog with one click, select the "Rules" menu, and then place your frog one square to the right of its current position in the Rule Program Box. You then click "play" on a VCR-like control panel to make your frog start moving across the screen. You can then use the Picture Editor to draw a fly, assign it a rule to move around the screen, and then give your frog a second rule to erase the fly (or eat it) if the fly enters a nearby square. After testing version 1.0, we'd recommend waiting for a second version that uses a more mature Java, the language on which Stagecast is based. Glitches mar the experience of 1.0. For example, the tutorial warns you to adjust your computer's graphic settings after you've launched the program; and sounds cannot be recorded from the computer's microphone. While the manual implies that Stagecast projects can be saved as HTML code, it is not possible to view them without downloading and installing a separate piece of software: the Stagecast Player. These technical issues aside, Stagecast presents the first powerful children's programming language to come along since Logo.
$59.95, Win 95, Win 98, Mac OS (CD-ROM)
Teaches: programming, creativity, logic