I think that people labeling their games as such could create the next generation of IF players. As of now, I pass along to my kids the majority of the old Infocom games – I’ve played them and I know they’re okay for my specific kids – and then random newer games that I’ve played to completion and can’t find anything that I think they can’t handle.
Well, then you’re doing what I said would be the best approach, the time-consuming one. [emote]:)[/emote] Unfortunately, if we really want to make sure of what our kids are getting, that ends up as the only solution. The rating system I brought up is just another time-saver - consider “The Baron”, and how low it would score in all three counts, and how totally unsuitable it is for a child.
Oh, that’s my point. I am doing the time consuming thing AND my kids are probably missing out on a lot of games they could play. And that not only sucks for the kids, but it sucks for the game creator since kids bring other kids into playing games.
I was looking for short, safe games for my almost-10 year old daughter yesterday on ifdb, hoping for just this sort of ranking.
As I work a lot with gradeschoolers and grade school teachers, some labeling of all of these would help:
- appropriateness - language, sex, violence
- difficulty - puzzles easy enough for a grade schooler
- relevance - a kid would like it (topics they relate to)
We settled on Lost Pig, but I’d love to have her try some new ones from the competition.
Hi, Teefal,
As noted, the Mrs. Wobbles in the contest is for slightly older kids, but the first 2 tales are appropriate for elementary school kids. My kids, and I have presented them to K-6th grade and have received positive responses from all ages.
Appropriateness – no bad language, no sex, negligible violence
Difficulty – Easy
Relevance – We hope highly relevant!!!
The Mysterious Floor:
http://markcmarino.com/tales/storybook3.html
(There’s a little background tragedy in this story in the backstory of what happened to the mom, but not sensationalized).
Parrot the Pirate:
http://markcmarino.com/tales/storybook2wobbles.html
(A little menace in an abusive, drunken uncle – mostly off-stage, touched upon only briefly.)
But as noted in this thread – please read them yourself first and see if you think they’re appropriate!
Would it be cool for a 9 year old to judge? I’m not sure if we could make it through five, but it’s a thought.
I don’t think there are any restrictions? And I don’t think any authors would mind as long as they gave the games a fair shake. We even had a 10-year-old submit an EctoComp game a year or two ago.
Also, crowd-sourcing opinions on if a game is child-appropriate does seem like a great way to go. E.g. each person gives a different example why X might not be for kids or even says “Oh, avoid Y in this game.” There’s always something that can be missed, and since it’s been pointed out 1) this is subjective and 2) it’s impossible or hard to get through all the games before giving it to a kid, this helps.
Hm, maybe authors can assign a voluntary rating next year? We already sort of do. But maybe we could have a few simple guidelines.
Of the games I’ve played…
Grandma Bethlinda’s Variety Box is a short and easy pure puzzle game, Forever Meow is a cute game about a cat, and GROWBOTICS is a webtoy thingie. None of them have any objectionable material that I’m aware of (though you might want to double check on GROWBOTICS).
I don’t suppose I can go into specifics here (this is one case where it’s particularly frustrating…) but I’m happy to answer questions about Growbotics privately.