Microsoft Kodu makes programming visual

Image courtesy of Microsoft Research

Microsoft research are developing Kodu (previously Boku), a visual games programming environment.

Kodu is a programming environment which is designed to be accessible by children and adults alike, where you can create games on the Xbox using just the controller.

The core of the Kodu project is the programming user interface. The language is simple and entirely icon-based. Programs are composed of pages, which are broken down into rules, which are further divided into conditions and actions. Conditions are evaluated simultaneously.

Although Kodu is aimed at developing a programming environment for games programming, I think the project presents great promise for human-computer-interaction. Thirty years with computers has given us many technological achievments: wireless communication, gigahertz processors, almost inexaustable amounts of storage, but one thing computer technology has left by the way side is human interface. The interface between the computer and humans is vital, its the way we interact with a device which defines its importance – I personally believe this is why the Apple iPhone is so incredibly popular, it got the human-computer-interface just right. I’d go so far to say even that above all other technologies today, interfaces are where we are going to see the most progress and the most profound changes in our lives.

I believe that this is the way of the future, its projects like this where programming will become mainstream, and with our modern world the way it is – and unlikely to change anytime soon, everyone will at some point want to or be required to do some programming in the future. Text based syntax and grammar restrictive languages such as C++, Java etc require a wealth of knowledge before you can concieve of working with code.

If we could all move to a visual programming medium, where intuition and perception are the rules of the game, computer programming could definitely become a mainstream activity.

You can find out more about Kodu at [Microsoft Research]