Is this project related to the book: "Learn to Program with Minecraft: Transform Your World with the Power of Python" ? http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Program-Minecraft-Transform-Pyth... I ask because the concept appears to be substantially similar.

re: the approach -- My kids are crazy about Minecraft, and being able to build very simple python programs that modify the world (build block structures, control creatures, etc.) is much more gentle yet engaging than the typical programming 101 tasks.