A 12 year old’s Role Playing Game creation

For anyone not observant or paying attention to the fundamental changes occurring with kids, games, media and their attention, I’d like to offer up one illustration: my 12 year old son and what he’s doing right this minute building an RPG.

This kid is a gamer. So much so that last summer he begged us to do something with video game classes and I discovered ID Tech Camp, which are held at various universities. He stayed in the dorm for a week and had a great time.

When we arrived for family day where we’d see his video game creation and pick him up, the instructor pulled his mom and I aside and whispered, “We had a bit of a problem with him.” Not something you want to hear as a parent and we were prepared for the worst, but the “problem” was due to the fact that he learned the game creation software, built his game and was done two days early! They couldn’t regroup fast enough to handle his abilities.

He started in on his begging routine a few days ago asking me to PLEASE, OH PLEASE download the demo of RPG Maker. I was reluctant since it only runs on the PC, we’ve dumped the one we had at home and he’d have to use my MacBook Pro with Parallels running Windows XP. Not a big deal, but knowing him he’d never let go of a computer I use all the time!

My guy is out there right now completing his first level. He was confused about how to work the software and had no training other than going through the Help screens and playing with the software. He has an intuitive understanding of the logic that I don’t have since he’s played hundreds of hours of games. That logical understanding provides him with a feel for how a game should be laid out and how levels should be structured before someone can proceed to the next one.

In less than 30 minutes, he’s created the first level, added a character, figured out how to give it attributes (and colored its hair and added a costume and cape), and has chosen fun music to narrate the game play.

I see his understanding of systemic logic played out with mobile phones, computers, and any other digital device as well as his understanding of how systems work (even something like a lock and dam on the Mississippi river we visited when he was 10 years old. He almost instantly understood how it worked). It’s why the woefully inadequate technology he has in school means that virtually NONE of his systemic-oriented accelerated learning will be occur in school. We’re fortunate to be able to afford new tech and I’m a gadget hound, so he’s got access to stuff most kids don’t.

His expectations using Web sites and software is that they just work. That he can manipulate, hack and interact with them. That they’ll give him what he wants without alot of goofing around.

Funny last point: Since the RPG Maker didn’t need his full attention, he’s watching one of his recorded shows on our DVR while laying out his new RPG game.