I saw let's play video from R-type. I read a lot about incidences in traffic. I wonder if users could script those incidences ( with real plate signatures and real locations (may pull in OSM) and times ) and let others race through them. I have no motivation to play R-type (I would feel like a slave) and I wonder why people seek intelligent games when there are so many programming challenges out there which need your intelligence. Or trying to use the next version of word or so... But this time this would help to educate. Watch out for kids, learn traffic light patterns, zip, emergency lanes. Parcel service. All cars on the left lane.

This would be like crazy taxi, micro machines, gta but without this arbitrariness. Either you hit nothing and a next level is unlocked or you die. The scripts need a fixed pace like in R-type. Maybe add a difficulty level: Manual, where you fall of the screen if you cannot accelerate enough due to a gear chosen to high.

You get points for hitting cars in no parking zones or cars violating right of way (especially leftturns or the symmetry on zip). You loose points for hitting the brake.

Lincolns will always drive to slow, BMW too fast, Mercedes think they always have right of way, hit an F150 and you die always, your car is a Honda Civic.

There exist games where you program things to operate in a game. It starts with games like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_War and probably ends somewhere in the area of being able to program an AI competitor in a game.

While programming may be seen as fun by programmers, the truth is that very few people can actually program, or even understand how to reason in such systems.

They already struggle with the microwave or alarm clock. In addition, programming anything is a lot of work, loads of little details and edge cases that have to be dealt with. For these reasons I think, programming games will never break through.

Even for programmers there are limits. If you work on a difficult problem all day, you don't want more difficult details to figure out for relaxing. This is why programmers also play intelligent games. Heck, I have been playing patience for quite some time, it's quite addictive I find, even though it doesn't actually do anything!!

If you widen "programming" to "customizing", people do a lot more programming. Beyond a different looking skin, eg in car games you do make choices on engine type, air resistance, speed, suspension, weight and so on. While it is not actually coding instructions, you do change your vehicle to get some desired behavior.

Your idea comes quite close to writing an AI for a game. Maybe that would be a good direction for checking out what is available.

I hope to channel the road rage into the programming enthusiasm. It needs to be simple like minecraft. I just saw there exist a Super Mario Builder U. And on the PS there is this sand sack. I do not want people to write long programs. Maybe Scratch can be used. Triggers placed on the map lead to short actions.

Problem is, road rage is volatile. Also I have the real game, I will probably crash someday trying to zip into stubborn people. Or I will hit a pedestrian running in dark clothes in the night in the rain crossing the street behind a bend.

I just tried Super Mario Maker with 3 kids ( 6..8 years ). And it works. So at least kids like programming for fun.

I just tried Super Mario Maker with 3 kids ( 6..8 years ). And it works. So at least kids like programming for fun.

Kids don't have to work for a living, so they tend to be more forgiving than adults when it comes to wasting hours on solving "hard problems" in their free time.

For example I did go for "golden chocobos" and similar silly stuff that bloated the total play time of a 90's Final Fantasy game to 80+ hours, even though it basically was padding, as the "real" story campaign was over after 20-30 hours max. But back then I was in middle school and had not much else to do in my free time, looking back I wish I would have spent the time on something more productive (like learning game development)... it wasn't as fun as it sounded after the story of the game was over, and the achievment of getting a golden chocobo wasn't that great in the end ....

Today, I rarely ever finish games unless they are really, really good. And then I get all the optional stuff by looking up the optimal way online (yes, walktroughts... heresy, I know), or just skip it as it rarely is as fun as the main game. I just don't have the time anymore to be a comp1337ionist.

Also, many members on this forums are an exception as many are hobbyist game devs which already do spend at least part of their free time on game development... many of them are programmers by profession.

They will be much more open to "programming games"...

My guess on why Mario Maker was and is a big hit is this: everyone likes to have the option to mod the shit out of their favorite game. Most will try the tools and create something hilarious (like the "launch ramp into orbit" in Trackmania)... they will have some fun with their ridicolous creation and then quickly lose interest as they will tend to see how much work it is to create something that provides long term fun.

But the few that keep at it and get or are already good at it will churn out additional content for everyone, thus adding to the long term fun of the product for everyone. Pulled out of my behind, I would guess 100% of Mario Maker players will try out the tools, 50% actually finish something, about 10% is able to finish something that is fun to play, 1-3% of players in Mario Maker are actually building content that is fun and good enough that it sticks and is played by other players repeatedly.

How many programmers are there that a) also like playing games in their free times, and b) want to program in their free time, without c) that programming actually producing something of value (monetary or not) instead of just being recreation in a game?

While I do think your base idea has some value, maybe go easy on the "scripting" part. You could offer modding tools for the few fans of the game that DO want to create their own crash scenarios (as long as the options are fairly open, I guess there IS room for some fairly hilarious scenarios), and give them the ability to share their creations online (thus giving people that DO create scenarios or scripted scenes an incentive to actually create such a thing, and the normal players additional player generated content).

Just make sure to not limit the modders imagination too much. Let them come up with their own vehicles, let them introduce their own "characters" (Like the old lady that shuffles on the street from outside the players vision and need to be avoided... if the modder can come up with easy ways to "personalize" her (like loading simple sprite sheets, animation sequences, her reactions on the players actions (like hitting the car with her crutches if the player only barely manages to avoid her and gets to close))... stuff like that will inspire modders and make the scenarios much more fun to play...

The game "Stuntman" on PS2 has pre-programmed everything and simply has high difficulty for the player to face. Like so many Nintendo games, Stuntman focuses on memorizing and mastering a predictable overall pattern; this allows the player to improve their performance on a given course very quickly through simple trial-and-error. Don't forget that static creations always have less replay value.