mediated history

Well, I looked at Scratch with the intent to use it in my project somehow, but I don’t think that is the correct way to do it.  Scratch is a more technical Kids Pix, and it reminds me of all the old web hosting sites that would have their own programs to visualize information on a webpage (like blogspot! but more like geocities), except with flash.  It seems basic at first glance, but looking at the community additions to it, it’s  insane.  The videos they show just make it seem like newgrounds videos back in 2004, but some of the stuff programmed is insane.  The regular blocks they show you on the slide show give the illusion that it’s basic, but people replace the sprites of cats or whatever with data values, then use the blocks in Scratch to  give visualizations of complex formulas.  Maybe it’s not complex, but people programmed calculators and stuff.

Scratch is kind of like the educational Minecraft.  Minecraft is an indie game that got really big, and the game’s code is open to mods, and some of these mods make it into the game.  In Minecraft, redstone is used to create circuitry, and the layout in game is pretty simple, and most people only use it to create doors powered in a certain way, or have lights turn on.  Most are simple switches, but redstone creations can get ridiculous.

Its kind of the same thing, they created an interface that’s not too complicated, but people took it to the next level.  Unfortunately, I don;t think I’m going to use Scratch for my projects, since none of the ideas I have now really work easily with Scratch.  I would have to bend over backwards to work with Scratch.  It does add something new to previous programs though, maybe I can create something else, not really advertised by that program, but possible, and it would work out.  I don’t have any ideas off the top of my head, but I think it would be interesting to see if people make any complex WordPress pages or something.

~ by aledere1 on November 26, 2012 .