Why is flowlab used for education?

It isn’t a real “programming language” and you don’t even need programming skills to learn flowlab, so why do I see students with it? They better go learn a real language imo Not very important: It’s also the reason why my parents don’t want to help me paying an indie account because they want me to learn a real programming language and flowlab is just something I do for “fun”.

I guess you could type “code” now that there’s an import thing with a text box which you can type into instead of pasteing

if.this.Latif3.physics.collision.grazer’s nerves
this.grazer. will become sad

Lol, just kidding.

One suggestion, is a possible “see the lines” function that shows all of the code behind the logic.

That’s a good question @Latif3 , and you’re correct that you can’t actually write text-based code in the editor right now. However, that doesn’t mean creating game logic isn’t “real” programming. You still have to understand computing concepts like control flow, boolean logic, “variables” (called Numbers in Flowlab), if statements (filters), etc.

The lack of a text representation and compilation step, while it’s limited in some respects compared to a typical programming language, it has the advantage of not having a syntax to memorize along with the frustrating errors that accompany it. Flowlab takes inspiration from programming paradigms like:

Flow Based programming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow-based_programming
Functional Reactive programming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_reactive_programming

In addition, there are other aspects of game design and development beyond just programming that are worth learning about, such as game design and digital art :slight_smile:

If you are interested in learning code, I would recommend C++. LUA script is alright, but I had a lot of issues with lag and glitches when I tried to make homebrew back in the PSP hacking days. Also, I believe flowlab runs in Haxe, and Haxe cross-compiles to C++, so maybe grazer will have an export/import code option for people that would like to dump their flowlogic into code, to help them learn C++ easier, or if you have big plans for your games like sockets for online multiplayer, or adding your own features not available in flowlab yet. Raw code allows far greater creative freedom, at the cost of it being very time consuming and boring, as well as a pain for people like me that may struggle to focus on reading for hours. Flowlab is a more fun and easier way to code, since you don’t have to worry about typing a typo and breaking your game by not paying attention to what you’re writing. I can’t listen to music or have a conversation while coding, is a good example. I might type the lyrics by accident.

@grazer Thanks for your answer :smiley: But honestly, when I started learning c# I was only thinking about flowlab like I wanted to use a message and mailbox behavior in c#, and some other behaviors like once and timer. And it confused me because flowlab’s visual logic builder was nothing related with text-based code. It only learns you how games work, you learn about triggers, properties etc. It’s actually a quick way to turn your ideas into a game. But it shouldn’t be used for very big projects.

@“Mhx Ar” I’ve always been interested in programming but when I was young (like 5 years ago, I’m 15 now, still young I guess) I didn’t know how to start. So I found flowlab one day and saw it’s a very easy game creator. A year ago I learned c#, and this year I learned javascript and I can design a simple website with html and css.

I’m actually not interested in c++. I’ve watched some tutorials on YouTube and I didn’t like its syntax. I think c# is enough for now, maybe I would change my mind in the future when I get more experienced with programming languages.

by the way, I’ve taken a look at haxe. And it looks nice.

@grazer Do you recommend me learning it?

If you get really good at coding one day, remember me. I have blueprints for a game that would top the charts, but without coders, I’d have to resort to using gamemaker or something. I refuse to code. I don’t have the patience for it. I’m the artistic type. I do music, graphics, storyboard, and level design, not code. It’s like learning Japanese to me.

I can understand that. Starting from zero is very difficult. And you need patience.

But making music seems nice, I’ve tried making some music once but it was horrible so I stopped with it, it’s not something for me.