My name is Jon Silvera and I run FUZE Technologies Ltd.
First off why is this item called Fuze Basic for Nintendo Switch. The product is called FUZE4 Nintendo Switch and sorry folks but it is not BASIC.
We are an education company - we deliver coding workshops to young people around the country. We developed FUZE to help us achieve this. The results have been so positive we decided to bring it to new platforms like the Switch.
The site mentioned below being behind a login wall.. fuzearena.com is a community website to support FUZE. Due to many of our users being children we absolutely have to moderate the site and due to the sharing nature, that is using Nintendo friend IDs we must have accountability.
The out of stock hardware is an old product using old versions of FUZE BASIC (the previous product that has nothing to do with FUZE4). We hope to release new hardware with the new version of FUZE4 in the future.
I wasn't aware about forcing you to receive marketing materials - i will look into this. It should not be the case.
The software is called FUZE4 Nintendo Switch - it is available on the eShop. I don't think we could have made it any easier to get!
The release version has a few bugs, more than i would have liked. There is a patch already in the approval process with Nintendo. This fixes almost all of the known bugs and certainly gets rid of the worst ones.
This is a games console - it will always be restricted. The point is that this is a learn-to code app for users to get to grips with coding by programming games. If the users move on to Unity + C# or C++ or Python or Java for that matter then our work has been a success.
However, Windows, Android, Raspberry Pi versions will follow and if we do reasonably well then Stadia, XBOX, Playstation & Apple devices. The bulk of these will allow for a far more open landscape.
Sharing on the Switch however is perhaps not as restricted as you imagine and it is likely to improve over time as Nintendo trust the application more.
"easy as BASIC, powerful like C and versatile like Python" - Try it! This was our objective from the beginning.
"Over $1,000 worth of high-quality gaming assets" - you want a fight - step outside. Actually the real cost is a lot higher as many assets we're created exclusively. However if you go to Itch.io and a couple of other content sellers and combine everything we included then it comes to just over $1,200. And yes, we do have the artists approval in every single case!
The touch keyboard works really well and it is no ZX81 - I know this because i started on the early Z80s. I code using the screen a lot and whilst it won't replace a proper keyboard it is very, very usable. However plug a USB keyboard in and you're all set.
"every "coding for children" thing is fake" - now this is a good comment and i generally agree. The problem is we spend too much time teaching kids to play at coding rather than teach them real text based stuff. The problem is that things have been dumbed down so much people have forgotten what kids are actually capable of. At FUZE we teach text based coding, always have and always will because that is what it is. Someone still has to write Scratch and so on. We teach kids from six and up - in the early years it's all LOOPS, VARIABLEs and IF THEN statements but we quickly move on to arrays, vectors, lists, structures, 3D and so on.
"Why did they write their own language? Why not just use an existing language?" - We are teaching kids to code. Right now kids are taken from Scratch to Python - the jump is too much. FUZE is a transitional language designed to lower the barriers of entry to the real world languages.
Look folks, all we're trying to do here is provide an accessible, easy to learn coding environment to get more kids into coding. The fact FUZE is powerful enough and 'real world' enough for seasoned coders to enjoy is a bonus and it helps everyone if the pro's can help the newcomers.
Oh, someone said they thought it was freeware. Hmm.. nope. It cost over £250,000 to develops.
There will be free versions around the education channel and maybe players in the future but for now we need to recover our investments, buy flash new cars, buy a lot of drugs and go on a few crazy holidays, so just buy the damn thing!
I think I have covered everything.
But to summarise, we are trying to make a living by making an accessible learn to code platform to encourage more young people to get into coding.
It's bloody good and as such it deserves a tad more love!
Jon Silvera FUZE Technologies Ltd / feel free to email, i'm easy to find.