Comment Re:Best suggestion is Kodu (Score 2, Informative) 237
Unity:
As well as working on IOS and Android if exporters are purchased. Want to get a kid interested? Tell them that they could put it on their phone and/or sell it in the app store...
It is by far one of the most straightforward applications for game development. The demo scene loads a fully completed level. Press the play button and the map is playable. Press pause and you go back to editing mode. Move some stuff around add or delete lights and press play again to see your changes. There are start to finish level design and mechanics tutorials, a great community, and it is highly intuitive.
This is perfect for teaching a kid how to make games.
It is by far one of the most straightforward applications for game development. The demo scene loads a fully completed level. Press the play button and the map is playable. Press pause and you go back to editing mode. Move some stuff around add or delete lights and press play again to see your changes. There are start to finish level design and mechanics tutorials, a great community, and it is highly intuitive.
This is perfect for teaching a kid how to make games.