Popfly Game Creator
When Microsoft launched its
Popfly
mashup creation site and tooling, it was seen as
an
early effort to get Silverlight out in front of the non-coding public and
to help blunt the momentum of innovative mashup tools like Yahoo Pipes. Since
the May 2007 launch, Popfly has managed to do just that, emerging as a popular
mashup tool for non-programmers.
Now, Microsoft is taking the Popfly concept in an intriguing direction: game
creation.
The way Microsoft figures it, Popfly Game Creator will tap into the next wave
of user-generated content. Microsoft Developer Division Senior Vice President
S. Soma Somasegar blogged about the new offering here.
As Jacqueline Russell, lead product manager for the Popfly team, told us:
"When we think of the domains that the phenomenon of user-generated
content has penetrated already -- text, video, images -- games are really
the next on that list, and Popfly goes a long way towards making that easy
and accessible for everyone."
No surprise, Microsoft isn't targeting the suit-and-tie set with this offering,
instead chasing what it calls "students, hobbyists and other non-professionals."
What Popfly Game Creator could do, however, is draw more than a few bright,
young minds into the area of game development. Just as sites like Fark.com helped
give birth to a generation of young Photoshop experts, Popfly Game Creator could
help inspire a lot of creative talent.
By lowering barriers to entry and opening a compelling new flank in user-generated
content, Microsoft is doing a good thing. The question is, will it lead more
people to take up the study of computer science and software development?
You tell me. E-mail me at mdesmond@reddevnews.com
with your thoughts.
Posted by Michael Desmond on 05/06/2008