Hi guys,
I currently teach an 8 year old boy maths and promised I would show him how to make a simple game in blender, only using logic bricks. But I just wondered what would you consider reasonable for his age.
I was thinking a simple platform game, no animation and block shapes like a cube to move around.
Any other ideas are welcome, I don’t think I want to baffle him too much with character design or modelling, just something he can quickly get his teeth into and feel like he made it himself 
Teach him making a game with Driveclub graphics and Resident Evil first series style. It should be such easy!
OK! OK! If seriously - I can’t help you. I don’t know what 8 years old may understand of computers. When I was 8 years old, I had used computer only once - and that time I played Worms: World Party for few minutes, lol:D However, when we get to math - I already knew multiplying and dividing, negative numbers and some other stuff. But in nowadays, afaik, children use computer already in age of 3:D
Maybe teach him making a basic game where he has to get out of kinda room by looking for some keys and other stuff? It’d require Python, though, but you should teach it to him aswell:D
The easiest game is to set up two cubes with WSAD and the other with arrow keys, and try to push each other off a platform.
Or a maze or some sort always works well
Pinball is also relatively easy using the ‘flipper’ animation playback logic brick…
I vote for that too. When I was like 12 I did a game in blitz3D, one cube had to catch the other in 2 minutes.
@adrian, the kid is smart but he isn’t a genius! I do think python is a very friendly programming language to start with, but I don’t wish to put him off. To be honest, I don’t even know python that well! 
Conceptually the logic bricks are very easy to see what is going on and it is very hands on, in that you can drag and drop blocks.
@ geoff and elm, yeah I do like the idea of a cube being pushed about using logic, or a simple steering game with just a cube and maybe some obstacles.
I might texture it for him, pre made but skip the process of how I did it, just so it looks appealing to play.
Thanks for the tips, any other advice is of course most welcome.
Also remember, this kid is not even 12, he’s 8.
you can use the steering actuator to makes a small hide and seek game.
I would personally use the ‘add object’ thing and teach him how to make a bunch of shapes, then add them using the add object thing, so like, you just press a button and an item pops up.
Like, have 8 different colors, one for each of his years, then have 8 keys, and assign an actuator to the different 8 keys to add a different object.
Or, have objects shaped like letters, then assign them to the keyboard keys, and when you press a key, it adds a big 3d letter of the corresponding key.
WSAD is wayyy too boring for an 8 year old
Just tell him about the concept about “event driven” (WHEN happens WHAT). Even an 8-year old catch what it means. I mean “when it is 6 o’clock … stand up”, “when you are hungry … look for something to eat”.
This is what the logic bricks do.
As they lack on dynamic configuration (When detecting any NPC go to the nearest one), you should focus on static configuration (when detecting any NPC go to the NPC - which works great when there is just one).
So yes a WASD controlled avatar should be pretty straight forward. Even a pong game should be no big issue.
I did the add object thing with my own daughter but I coded it in python, as it was more to give her a toddler game, then to teach her coding, however
Mouse over any(sphere)–and-------------property drop = sphere
Click---------------------------------/
Mouse over(canvas)----and-------------add sphere
Property drop = sphere/
Have to be careful with kids, nothing too violent. My 6 yr old grandson can’t manage wsad and mouselook, but he’s really good with joystick, maybe teach him how to hook up joysticks to a cube. But making some sort of a monster would be cooler. (Cubes are lame) 
So he says.
The game I made that my grandson really likes is “Monster Vet” where he is a doctor, and has to give monsters their rabies shots. It’s a FPS (tranq gun) and the monsters are free roaming on a fairly large environment. The catch is you have to find the tranq darts, and sleep grenades,they’re scattered all over. Maybe show him how to make a cube free roam with radar, it’s really simple as everyone knows. Cube always moves Radar hits invisible wall, turns 90 degrees. Navmesh may be too advanced for him. IDK.
My 6 yr old also likes “Subway Runner”. So I made him a first person type. where he is stuck on a RR bridge and has to dodge trains. He really likes that one also. And teaches him to stay away from RR tracks. Maybe you could make something like that where he has to dodge things coming at him.