Scratch

Well it's not the cloud variables as such, it's really the dark side of multi-user content. I was just thinking how Scratch 2.0 will for the first time make user interaction possible within a Scratch project, even if it's only very simple things like high scores (to start with anyway). But even just having a high score list in a game, means for the first time it will be possible to cheat at a Scratch based game in a meaningful way.

Suppose you make a simple racing game, but you make a little mistake, it's possible to cut across the grass in a certain place and finish in almost half the time. Before that wouldn't have mattered, people could either play properly, or take the shortcut, and as long as they have fun, who cares? But if you have a high score list, before long, only people who cheat will be able to get a high score. So that makes the game less fun for people you plan normally.

Another example: Lets say you make a cute project where people can post notes on a virtual cork-board. And just to cause trouble, someone comes in and posts blank notes all over it, covering up the notes people actually put thought into. Pretty standard griefer behavior, it's just nothing we've had to deal with in Scratch before.

Finally, there's a technical issue I wonder about. Back to the racing game example, suppose somebody isn't content with just taking a shortcut, so they pull up the editor, and double the speed of their car! When they do that, does it automatically become a new project with separate cloud variables? Or could they actually write to your project's high score list from their modified version?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a bad feature, I'm real excited about it in fact. I just wanted to bring up some possible issues people not have thought about yet. The only part that worries me a little is the last one, but I'm confident the Scratch team will handle cloud variables in a sensible way, so this doesn't become a problem.