Kid Pix, an iconic piece of kid-friendly desktop art software, has been ported to Javascript and HTML by Vikrum Nijjar. The web version of Kid Pix is based one the original 1.0 version released for Macs in 1989 by Craig Hickman.
It has the expected tools like paint brushes, rubber stamps, shapes, and letters, all scored by Kid Pix’s highly memorable sound effects. The sounds and Kid Pix’s somewhat inscrutable interface are the real draw here. The program’s inherent playfulness encourages you to explore, even if you’re not a kid anymore. You can see a spokesperson from Kid Pix’s first publisher Broderbund talk through some of the original app’s features below:
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I didn’t remember using Kid Pix at first, but pulling up the web version of Kid Pix and stamping a random assortment of strawberries only to be greeted with the app’s distinct THWACK sound effect, immediately confirmed that yes, I am child of the 90s. You might be similarly stirred by the dull KABOOM paired with Kid Pix’s “Firecracker” tool. Or the bizarre WOOOW that accompanies the “Doorbell” tool. Kid Pix is refreshingly weird in a way that most software isn’t in our polished, user-friendly 2021.
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It’s fun to take a trip down memory lane, and loading up a website in your browser is a lot easier than digging up a version of Kid Pix that will actually run on your computer.
You can try Kid Pix now, right from your browser.
