First Coding is very pleased to announce that we’ll be hosting coding classes on the Satchel platform. Satchel are the people behind Show Your Homework, something that a number of pupils and parents might be familiar with.
First Coding’s first class was on game design with the key takeaways being as follows:
How to push yourself creatively when coding.
The best approach to starting a portfolio of work.
Ways to get involved with the game dev community and get your game noticed
If you’re interested, the class can be viewed here.
You can hear the interview that went out on this morning’s Breakfast Show below. In it I talk about the plans we have to build a series f games in time for Christmas. I can’t believe how much interest it generated, they were even running a phone-in to see what ideas people can come up with. Proof that even the silliest of games can get noticed at times!
Listeners to BBC Radio Wiltshire will be able to hear all about some of the great projects coming out of First Coding tomorrow morning. Hopefully the projects featured will demonstrate that even the most simplest of ideas can often be the most fun and creative. The game design idea that is being launched shortly is also revealed as we plan for a creative Christmas. I’ve been told the interview will be aired on the Breakfast Show tomorrow morning. The link will also be posted when it’s made available.
Are you new to coding in Scratch or maybe you would like to improve on your Python programming skills? Then here are our top 5 tips on creative coding.
We continue this week with our popular Python school groups, looking at clever ways to code text-based Choose Your Own Adventure games. Already there are some great ideas forming and we look forward to seeing the results in a few weeks time. In the meantime, you can play one of First Coding’s adventure games where you must navigate a secret underground bunker, solving puzzles and looking for the source of the mysterious radio transmissions.
First Coding asked a couple of game studios to set a challenge and they didn’t disappoint. No coding experience is required for these challenges, it’s open to all with a creative imagination and some paper. There’s also a chance that your idea might get included in a game, with your name in the credits!
A player (represented by the red block) walks into a room containing up to a maximum of eight sprites. The player can only escape the room once the puzzle has been solved. Can you design a suitable puzzle for the player to solve? The sprites can be dragged, stacked or even blasted to bits in order to solve this puzzle.
Can you plan a puzzle using only a limited number of sprites? You can submit your ideas to hello@firstcoding.co.uk and we look forward to seeing what you come up with. Ideas need to be submitted by Friday 15th May.
In this week’s game design video we finish up on our Scratch game Lockdown Letters. Click the video below to learn how to code the paper aeroplanes that the player flies to the targets that we looked at last week.
Never assume Scratch is something only younger children use! At First Coding, we regularly submit the games we make in Scratch to game design competitions, competing alongside Unity developers and other independent game designers.
In this episode we’ll be looking at how the random targets in the game are coded.
Every Friday they’ll be a new video showing how we make the game Lockdown Letters. Click the video below to learn how to build the title screen as well as the background.
Please consider subscribing to the First Coding Patreon page to get access to the Scratch file for Lockdown Letters as well as other creative coding resources.
Welcome to the first episode of our Scratch game design series. Every Friday they’ll be a new video showing how we make the game Lockdown Letters. Click the video below to learn how to build the title screen as well as the background.
Please consider subscribing to the First Coding Patreon page to get access to the Scratch file for Lockdown Letters as well as other creative coding resources.
JOIN FIRST CODING AS WE MAKE A LOCKDOWN COMPUTER GAME
Starting Friday 24th April
First Coding is about to start making its first computer game inspired by the current lockdown. We’ll be making Lockdown Letters step by step in a series of weekly videos, with a new one available every Friday.
We would love it if you followed along and made your own version of the game – adding your own ideas too. The concept is simple, you’re one of many people in a town currently under lockdown and you must circulate letters of encouragement to other households to keep the town’s spirits up. You can only communicate with people by writing notes on paper aeroplanes and flying them to their destinations.
We’ll be building the game in Scratch, and during the guide, you’ll find out how to make the game, converting it to HTML so that you can package it up for distribution, and even some tips on how you can earn some cash from your game.
About Scratch
At First Coding, we regularly submit the games we make in Scratch to game design competitions, competing alongside Unity developers and other independent game designers. Never assume Scratch is something only younger children use! You can see our recent Scratch competition entries at The Rocket Arcade if you’re interested!
Starting Friday 24th April on Facebook and YouTube!
Like our Facebook page and YouTube channel to follow your dreams of becoming a games designer. Open to all ages and abilities. Every week a new video will be posted, along with the opportunity to view previous sessions if you may have missed. There will be four weekly videos concluding with a fifth live Q & A session.
