Microsoft Launched Kodu Visual Programming Language

Posted by Sierra Monica B. in Games on 07 3rd, 2009 | no responses

Microsoft launched a new programming medium specifically created to be accessible by anyone, including children.
It was previously called Boku, but now you can find it as Kodu and use it via the Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Game Controller.
Kodu was developed by Eric Anderson, Lili Cheng, Stephen Coy, Mark Finch and Matthew MacLaurin as a visual programming language for creating video games featuring icons instead of code.

This intuitive user interface is very easy to use by anyone who doesn’t have special programming knowledge. You can create programs composed of pages broken down into rules divided into conditions evaluated simultaneously, and actions.

The concept involves physical elements like vision, hearing and time for controlling the character’s behavior.
Microsoft highlighted the key features of Kodu, which include a high-level language that integrates primitives from the real world such as collision, color and vision, as mentioned previously, plus the fact that it doesn’t require the use of a keyboard. In addition, it runs on Xbox 360 or computers, but you need only the game controller for input.
Kodu provides an interactive terrain editor for creating arbitrary-shaped and sized worlds, bridge and path builder, as well as 20 different characters to play with, each having specific abilities.

Kodu Game Lab is available for download online, on the Xbox Marketplace, for $5.