Okay, being married to the Computer Geek of the Century, I thought we would have fisticuffs over the Tektoma 'Game Maker' software we received to use and review. Good thing I'm not a bettin' woman!The makers of Tektoma: Game Tutorials for Kids were kind enough to give us a temporary subscription to their website, complete with the Game Maker Lite software and all of the many tutorials and assistance they provide so that kids (or interested adults) can learn the programming of making their own computer games. I was thrilled: finally, I could plug the Smallish Man's genius brain into something constructive that might lead to learning something useful for... I dunno, like a career or something... you know, someday. When he's eaten all our food, learned everything I know, and given me a head full of gray hair. You know what I'm saying.....
What I failed to count on is the Computer Geek of the Century deciding he should finally fix our Wii. Yeah, that was impeccable timing. Why make computer games when you can play your long-lost Wii games? Making computer games is fun, sure, but it seems too much like, well, work. I only have to use my thumbs to play the Wii. And, sometimes, my wrist... I guess.
Ahem.
Anyway, I am disappointed to say that I am the only one who made a computer game, and frankly, the programming lingo was lost on me... I just blindly followed directions. Bonus, though: blindly following directions in the tutorials WILL yield a computer game! I made a memory game because, well, I like memory games. Go figure.
Tektoma, I must admit, has a really cool product that I have never seen or heard of anywhere else. They have a product that works, but they also have tutorials that a dumb sheep like me can use to make something cool - a computer game! If someone had a few more brain cells or a desire to learn the lingo of all that programming talk, s/he could pick up a whole new hobby - and maybe a future career!!
Tektoma's website lists their tutorials by the type of game you want to create, the amount of time the tutorial takes, and the level of skill (like Beginner). The only real downside I can see is that each tutorial is at least 1 hour, but you are really creating at the same time, so it isn't like you are watching the hour program, then building the game. Your game is pretty much done when the tutorial is over, so go ahead and play it.
I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about this product, and I hope my kids show some interest in something like this at some point because, frankly, that's the way the world is heading and they better saddle up!
To see what my fellow Crew Members thought of Tektoma, click here.
* As a member of the 2009-2010 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Homeschool Crew, I received this product FREE in exchange for my honest review of it. This blog post is that review and is my own opinion.
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