Is KSP for Older Users?

[comicbstudeo]

everyone is saying no kids play it, but my brother is 12 and he can get to basically anywhere.

[Captain Sierra]

Age is irrelevant, but what matters is ability/willingness to learn and attention span. So long as both are reasonably large, a person can grasp KSP quite easily.

My IQ is 160 something and I still had to turn to Scott Manley to figure out Hohmann transfers.

[EvilotionCR2]

http://i.imgur.com/3OagH1dl.jpg

I suppose I qualify as "older".

/has a lawn you need to be getting off of

You look like my uncle

[problemecium]

Ah yes, I sure do like curling up under my afghan with the Golden Oldies playing on my tapedeck to do some knitting while I wait for a transfer window. But only if I can finish the burn before I have to go to bed at 5:30.

[iDan122]

Im 11 and my IQ is 143. I have made it to the Jool multiple times, Eeloo once or twice, also built supersonic aircraft. Everything sleek and aesthetically pleasing. I also built multiple computers.

EDIT: Proof

http://imgur.com/a/7NeAE

Okay now do all that WITHOUT mods. And i did all that except for Eeloo without mods.(Well i did send a crew to Eeloo, but it was a very faily mission.)

[sal_vager]

He can play KSP in his way, as you can play KSP in yours iDan122, fly your own flights please, not the flights of others.

Also, stay on topic, thank you.

[Xacktar]

Does it count if I play the game like I'm 12?

/old guy here

//still can't be serious

///slashy slashies

[The Destroyer]

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer: KSP is the kind of game which appeals to a mature fanbase, mainly due to the fact that the ordinary 12 year old would never have the patience to learn to even orbit, even less so interplanetary travel.

Ha.

Yeah, ordinary 12-yo probably wouldn't do it. I started orbiter when I was...like...9 or 10. Played ksp around 11.5? I initally sucked... a lot... just like in orbiter. Then, tutorials about PHYSICS! came in, and I now love KSP to death.

I'm not very good at math either.

It's not a about age. It's about maturity. You can have a 20 Year old act like a two year old and vice versa.

[Pwnstarr]

Definitely a thinker's game, so I think that tends to attract older players or youngins with either a good attention span or high aptitude for their age.

I have no idea what my IQ is nor do i know what it matters, i am surrounded by high IQ morans on the road everyday...

Edited May 12, 2014 by Pwnstarr

[Rowsdower]

Demographically speaking, we target the ages most video game companies set their sights on. Is KSP JUST for them? That's a solid no. It's for everyone who has the will to try it and the smarts to keep at it. It's for the ones who entertain themselves with explosions and the people who can't make it off the ground. It's about science, exploration and a sense of achievement. It's for whoever wants to pick up and play.

[Red Iron Crown]

I think in addition to some degree of smarts and maturity, KSP also requires a bit of internal motivation. It doesn't hold your hand and tell you when you've done something awesome, it doesn't condition you with achievement pop-ups, it doesn't try to tell you what you should be doing at all; you have to set your own goals and derive your own satisfaction for achieving them.

I'll admit that when we did the last "how old are you" thread, I was frankly shocked at the number of pre-teen/early teen players. Maybe there's some hope for your generation yet.

[Nightmare]

Its a game of trial and error and little game overs from time to time and when you are good with that this is the game for you if not it is not such simple that is...

[VelocityPolaris]

It's just for those who like science 'n' stuff. And a few who wanna combine science with explosions, like Xacktar.

[Dispatcher]

I think KSP can appeal to a lot of people, regardless of age (OK, let's say around 8 on up). I personally know some video game players who are middle aged and older (one is almost 80), and they play shooters like COD, etc. online. The one who is almost 80 also plays KSP and Space Engineer, and builds levels in other games like Sauerbraten and one iteration of Far Cry. If you think about it, the Space Age has been around for about 60 years or so, and anyone that was a kid as early as the 1950's would probably have fun playing KSP.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Dispatcher
Added the word "online".

[WinkAllKerb'']

Most associate age only with the number of time thay made a revolution around the sun, this is the most common def.

Age are ageS it's not like there only one pole we're mature immature at. That's being said child & teen are an endless source of surprise and enlightnement, and, as each generation goes they are far more concerned by space than most of us currently really are. Question is what kind of space you expect for your child, and how to share them thoose valor.

KSP get an amazingly strong potential here.

(Moonraker one more time? really ?, moon belong to US cause of a flag, glowing BigMac in the sky @ night time because they spend money redirecting an asteroid, etc. )

Edited May 13, 2014 by WinkAllKerb''
typo

[luizopiloto]

it's not a matter of age... but i.q.

[G'th]

The thing about KSP is that, while the game as it is intended to be played is going to appeal more to a more mature player base, the nature of the game can appeal to basically anyone.

Whenever I suggest the game to people, a lot of times it isn't the space sim that hooks them, its the rocket building. Literally anyone who understands the basic idea of what a rocket does can have some fun building a rocket out of the parts.

[pslytely psycho]

It's about science, exploration and a sense of achievement. It's for whoever wants to pick up and play.

Sense of achievement. That really says a lot. This game gives a genuine sense of achievement.

Achievements in gaming are generally shallow, pats on the back for something inconsequential (Oh you did a single mouse click and built a house! Oh goody for you!!!) . Here there are no 'hollow achievements,' here you FEEL the achievement.

BTW 55 year old over the road truck driver here. Watched the moon landing at 10 years old in 1969, live on TV. KSP revives the feelings I had then.

Edited May 13, 2014 by pslytely psycho

[WinkAllKerb'']

Is the game seeable on steam ? YES

Is the game seeable on curse ? YES

What are thoose platform audience age ?

Are child interested in space, rocket, cartoonish cara. design, futur, dream etc. ?

Do some parents please there child sometime buying for them things a bit to earlier than expected by designer ? YES

Edited May 13, 2014 by WinkAllKerb''

[Gojira]

Honestly, KSP didn't catch my eye at first. I thiught it was the dumbest thing. But then I actually tried it. The hours of laughter and the satisfaction I felt when I finally achieved orbit, and later Mun landing, made it all worth it. I was 13 at the time.

Really, the only reason I keep playing is the sense of achievement, and the sense that there's still so freaking much to do, and so much for me to accomplish. I haven't landed on Eeloo or any of Jool's moons except Laythe. I haven't sent a return trip to Eve or Moho yet. I haven't explored every biome on the Mun, Minmus, or even Kerbin. For me, what made me play was the sense of discovery and wonder I felt when I first suceeded at orbit, and that hasn't stopped since that first launch. What keeps me going is the discovery and feeling of self-accomplishment. Also, science. Definitely science. I'm 16 now. This game really does not let you go.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Gojira

[Sidoz11]

I'm currently 16 and I can't think of any other game like it, I think 'trial and error' was made along with this game although none of my friends play this, they've seen me play it and I think it's the effort that put them off, but I for one am fascinated by space, especially the apollo missions and watching documentaries and interviews with the veterans as they reflect on the glory days, just amazing really I think this game applies to all ages really, you just need the right mindset

[Deathsoul097]

Man, I was fourteen when I first saw this game. I started watching KurtJmac's Lets play on Youtube, and the game had me. I was enraptured by the beauty and openness that this game presented, along with some comical sidekicks, and the ability to fly, play, and explore the kerbal universe as you envisioned. It was just about the only thing I have ever seen and thought; "Oh my god, I must have that! It's amazing!"

Fast forward about a month, and I am consistently watching KSP videos from all manner of youtubers, including the very awesome and inspirational Constellation Program recreation by Katateochi, and I've finally managed to convince my parents to allow me to download the demo, and I spent nearly all of my time trying to hijack my dad's laptop to play. Then, I found out about mods. I was drawn in even more, to the point of being enraptured, if you will. Finally, I convinced my dad to buy me KSP. I still remember that "Wow" feeling when I managed to make it to duna, or jool for the first time.

This is, simply, one of the most amazing and influential games I have ever played, or continue to play. I am now nearly sixteen. Frankly, this game has changed my life. I am constantly on the search for something new and awesome about science and space in itself, and I have a completely different, and much more humble outlook on not only the world, but this universe we call our home. The only thing that saddens me about it is that I was born to early to be a part of the true exploration of our universe, and too late to be a part of our beginnings of wandering from this blue marble at the same time. We are specks of dust, inhabiting the surface of an almost equally insignificant ball of rock, and in this universe, we are nothing. And yet, we can recognize this fact, and understand it, which makes us everything. That is one of the most beautiful facts of our existence to me. That even when we exist simply for the purpose of existing, we have gained the ability to truly appreciate out own insignificance and significance in the same moment, and the wonder of the cosmos around us.

This realisation and understanding, this knowledge, of the universe, science, and even just my own views that it has allowed me to take, is why I truly love this game. If you have even the slightest interest in the beauty and wonder this universe holds, it allows you to explore that, in a fun and interesting way. If you have any interest in what I have said, then this game is for you, regardless of the number you are tagged with and judged by, your age.

And this is the view of a hermit of a nearly-sixteen-year-old, who spends his life quietly observing those around him, and the going-ons of life. (Truly, a game to appeal to allsorts. )

[Tw1]

. Here there are no 'hollow achievements,' here you FEEL the achievement.

Agreed. This is why I'm hoping they never become part of the game.

21 year old uni student/geek/IDK here.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Tw1

[MarvinKitFox]

is KSP targeted for older users?

Basic gameplay requires good computer mouse/keyboard skills, a solid 3-d spatial awareness while working in a basically 2-d interface, and a basic awareness of goal-driven problem solving.

Advanced gameplay require the ability to disassociate yet interrelate several disjunct spatial viewpoints, and either the math skill or intuitive judgement to handle exponential relationships. Often in realtime. For example estimation of delta-v, or judging the throttle timing on a Mun landing.

So what ages?

For basic, about 6!!

For advanced...... also 6, if a big brother or parent is peeking over the shoulder with advice.

But realistically, maybe 10-11. You would be amazed at what kids are managing to do, nowadays.

If one was to remove the F5-F9 ability, or introduce real economic models, the target age would go up a bit. To about 55 or so..

((P.S.))

I was doing KSP in my backyard, when I was 7-10. Not having a nice computer to run it on, I had to resort to hand-shaping balsa for wing, stuffing gunpowder in pvc pipes for engines, and yelling "daaaad! fire 'stinguisher. kweeeek!" when a failed launch hit the barn.

I tried (and failed) to shoot down my home-built paper-lantern hot air balloon with a rocket.

I would have sold both my legs and one arm, to have KSP when I was young and exploring science...

It's just for those who like science 'n' stuff. And a few who wanna combine science with explosions, like Xacktar.

Combine science with explosions.??

You mean there is a way to do science *without* the explosions? how.....sad.

Edited May 13, 2014 by MarvinKitFox

[WinkAllKerb'']

You would be amazed at what kids are managing to do, nowadays.

Some "E-sports" starcraft contest won by 14 years old say it all ... regarding all things that winning an RTS contest involve.

EDIT 2:

(this exemple miss some background, anyway it remain a nowdays fact., think Mozart also and aims diff.)

Edited May 13, 2014 by WinkAllKerb''
typo & ++