Adequate for children?

[juh]

Hi,

my son (kindergarden age) has seen a preview and now would like to play KSP with me. Is this game adequate for children? From what I've seen, I'm undecided. On the one hand, it is about space, rockets, and minion-like little people. On the other, it features disaster, math, and other things dangerous to the unready. Opinions?

Best, Jens

[LakeSquid]

I definatly think it is safe for younger audiences, but could be rather complex for someone his age.

[IsopropylPod]

Originally posted by symbol2k4:

Hi,
math, and other things dangerous to the unready. Opinions?

Best, Jens

OH GOD!

MATH!

[IsopropylPod]

but seriously, yeah, its perfect for children. The worst thing is a K.I.A icon that apears on the screen of your kerbals if they die

[harg]

i think if he is interested, it is an amazing game for kids. it will definitely challenge them, but it may also spark a lifelong passion.

[SolitaryFortress]

I say it is kid friendly, worst case is that your kid sees a K.I.A. Icon or maybe a (Super cool)explocion, best case your kid learns a little bit of space, orbital mechanics or MATH (Also sees pretty cool explocions)

[newjeans PR manager]

Definitely kid friendly! But I think it would be good if you'd help him play, and help him learn. He can learn a lot from playing this game but he might have trouble understanding it in the beginning.

It would be a great way to bond, and a great way for him to learn :)

[FlashBurn]

Totally depends on the kid how much they will get out of it. I wish I had this thing when I was 8 or 9. Beats my old erector set by a ton. But probably too much for a kindergarder. Although might be a fun parent/child thing to give go. At the least you end up with a pretty unique game for after lights out for junior.

[sneakeyboard]

Prertty much been answered: It's not for everyone. Your kid will love it if he's willing to spend the time on it and actually learn the game; it has a rather high learning curve for children though. So that will depend mostly on his personality and reaction to something similar (if there's been something similar)

The game is not just "explore this, place a flag; next planet's that way, etc..." There's lots of reading. I would advise not to do it unless you plan to be by his side and spend some quality time together, provided there are enough opportunities to make it worth its purchase. A 1-3 hours per week could be plenty to stimulate him into doing thins himself too (as with the many kids who know smartphones better than their adult counterparts). Now on the worst case he'll lose interest after a few plays.

Alternatively, there's a sandbox mode for which I've seen pretty interesting stuff go on. Hope I don't kill the vibe with this wall man, just wanna give good inputs based on my first impressions.

[GeneralVeers]

Originally posted by symbol2k4:

On the one hand, it is about space, rockets, and minion-like little people. On the other, it features disaster, math, and other things dangerous to the unready.

It's probably a lot safer for young minds than CounterStrike......

By way of comparison, a couple things I did when I was a kid:

Perused a bunch of books about World War II, in which people got shot, set on fire, blown up, gassed, snagged in barbed wire, fell out of planes without parachutes, drowned in sinking ships, and got barbecued to a charcoal crisp with nuclear bombs.

Saw a movie in which spaceships got blown up, people got shot with lasers, one guy got his neck broken with a one-handed chokehold, a princess got tortured, some guys almost got pancaked in a trash compactor, one guy got his arm chopped off with a glowing sword thingy, and a planet with a few billion people living on it got blown up.

Kids are exposed to violence sooner than you realize; they're very sharp at outwitting adults and getting at material they're not supposed to (I think, when we grow up, we start repressing the memories of how clever we were.....) So I'd say KSP is pretty safe. However, you might wanna check up on the family and see what kind of violent stuff they're perusing when they think you're not looking.

[john1352]

The demo would let you see how the game plays, in some ways it may even be better for a kid as there are a much more manageable number of parts. You can land on the moon(s) and return in the demo, although it isn't easy to do.

Aeroplanes aren't available in the demo, in any case, I think you would need to make it and let your son attempt to fly it, so that it is at least possible to fly, although after a while he will figure out the basics of making a stable, controllable plane.

[FourGreenFields]

You don't need maths to play this. Generally, adding moar boosters (and struts when nessecary) will get you were you want, as long as you do not blow up due to instability (-> moar fins) or heating.
Most of the math involved (especially orbital stuff and manoeuvres) are automatically calculated. The rest might be handy for efficiency, but if you have the funds (which you will in sandbox, or science mode, or when playing career at low difficulty) it shouldn't be much of a problem.

[Kieme(ITA)]

If you think math is dangerous good luck to your son and how you are raising him...

[Chilli Dog Dave]

been using KSP to teach my nephew some minor rocket science, and he's having a laugh with it.

we sent a rocket to the mun, and had an extreamly bumpy landing where most of the equipment exploded, so then we sat down and discussed how we could improve it the next time.

we sat talking for 30mins deciding. so it's good and no bad content unless you consider explosions bad

[FourGreenFields]

Originally posted by Kieme(ITA):

If you think math is dangerous good luck to your son and how you are raising him...

Most people generally consider it boring. Kills a kid's curiosity if forced to do it or rewarded for it. A bit like school. And that is one of the worst things that can happen to a child.

[Kieme(ITA)]

Originally posted by FourGreenFields:

Originally posted by Kieme(ITA):

If you think math is dangerous good luck to your son and how you are raising him...

Most people generally consider it boring. Kills a kid's curiosity if forced to do it or rewarded for it. A bit like school. And that is one of the worst things that can happen to a child.

And that's exactly the point of a game such as this: give a pourpose to math and let it show the consequences of choices and calculations.
But the OP called it even "dangerous"... lol, just lol-.
Again, good luck to that kid.