This paper describes ToonTalk, a general-purpose concurrent programming system in which the source code is animated and the programming environment is a video game. The design objectives of ToonTalk were to create a self-teaching programming system for children that was also a very powerful and flexible programming tool. A keyboard can be used for various accelerators, but a ToonTalk user can get by with just a game pad, joystick, or mouse. Every abstract computational aspect is mapped into a concrete metaphor. The ToonTalk "world" resembles a 20th century city; an entire ToonTalk computation is a city. The programmer controls a "programmer persona" or robot in this video world to construct, run, debug and modify programs. In addition to a message-passing interface, ToonTalk provides a direct control of sprites (animated graphical elements); a sprite can be flipped over to reveal a notebook which contains remote controls for that sprite. Initial testing of ToonTalk use by children has revealed that it provides an entertaining way of constructing programs. (Contains 10 references.) (AEF)