Code Hero: A Game That Teaches You To Make Games

"Code Hero is a game that teaches you how to make games so you can learn to code while you play with a Code Gun that shoots Javascript in Unity 3D." I was very impressed with the demo of Code Hero that Alex Peake showed me at Maker Faire last May. It's on Kickstarter now.

Code Hero on Kickstarter

• [J. Brian Hennessy]

  Friggin’ Brilliant and the timing (market) imo is perfect! I wish you busted up your kicktarter total $’s into 2 or three phases but ce la vie’ … it is what it is.  Good Luck and see you in the marketplace soon!

  • [Alex Peake]

    Thanks for your support Brian. We haven’t gotten much sleep for the last YEAR working on this and I look forward to a solid 6 month burn to get our technology to multiplayer so this can really come into its own as a collaborative sandbox. Initially our focus is on single-player Portal-style puzzles that teach you the API and minecraft-like sandbox levels where you get to explore and survive and create by discovering code in the landscape.

• [MrEricSir]

  It’s amazing how many of us got into programming because of games. There should be more of this type of thing to encourage the next generation of developers.

  • [Alex Peake]

    Exactly. 99% of us are gamers, 99% of programmers start with coding a game, it is not quite a mathematical proof but time history will vindicate our hypothesis that the future of code involves having a lot of fun!

• [Gulliver]

  Awesome. I hope it makes better programmers than Guitar Hero makes musicians.

  • [Alex Peake]

    Yes, we once upon a time had more “auto-assist” programming modes in the game and might add them again to make it friendlier to even younger kids to try it and have fun before they master typing, but Code Hero is real live Javascript from moment 1.

    • [Gulliver]

      Hehe…instead of Hello world you can output Say hello world to my BFG :P

      As someone who learned to code from C++ primers and pestering my dad, I promise that on the sliding scale of fun, the only direction you can take the learning process is up! When I signed up for a ‘Programming for Physicists’ class back in undergrad I thought this should be a blast, it involves physics.

      I like the difference engine angle too. The only thing I would offer as a developer and former manager of dev teams is don’t spread yourselves too thin that you end up in /dev/hell. You can always expand functionality once the core product is out there and building a fan base.

• [Alex Peake]

  Wow we just broke 18.5K! What a day. Can you think of any other bloggers who would digg it? Also, did I mention we have a Harry Potter-themed world called Magia where you cast spells like Fireball and Lightning Bolt using forbidden books of Javascript Sorcery..
  And the original actual honest-to-gears inception of all steampunk itself, Charles Babbage and his difference engine as a level in the game and starting point to a whole series of future missions about the Analytic Engine and an alternative history Steam Age if you get the Analytic Engine funded :)

• [simonbarsinister]

  This sounds really cool.
  But why did the narrator surround himself with zombies in the video if there aren’t zombies in the game?
  I kid… I kid… but really guys… smile… or breath…

  • [Alex Peake]

    How did you know about the zombies in the game? (We were trying to be funny.) But seriously there will be zombies. Real ones. They’re in your house right now… They obey a power beyond death itself.

    • [Andrew Singleton]

      Use of GOTO will spawn zombies to murder you?

• [Andrew Molloy]

  Fantastic idea. 

  I’m sure you’ll get all the funding you need Alex, can’t wait to see the finished product. :)

  (The pedant in me is screaming “the tool is called Unity not Unity 3D”, lol)

  • [Alex Peake]

    I know it’s called Unity, but disambiguation and newbs require more context :)

    Thanks!

    • [Andrew Molloy]

      I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve looked for something and ended up with results to Ubuntu’s interface! (or religious groups) lol. 

      • [Alex Peake]

        Exactly. It is Unity3D or Ubuntu should rename theirs ( Calling it Unities would be more ironic)

• [Rock]

  I don’t understand. It’s a Kickstarter that is asking for *donations* to build a proprietary application that only runs on Windows or Mac? Did I miss something?

  • [Alex Peake]

    Linux support in Unity 3.5 for Native Client should allow us to make the Linux version soon. Early beta software is not easily ported to all simultaneous platforms at once. We use exotic dynamic code compilation techniques so we have to make changes before Native Client works!

    • [Rock]

       Great. Too bad the game engine is proprietary software.

      • [Jabin Tangeman]

         ….And?   Since when is kickstarter about making opensource software.  It’s about preorders on things you think are going to be great to fund ideas that maybe a big producer or investor would gamble on.

        When i kickstart a food cart (which i have) do i demand the plans for the cart and the recipes and get mad that i have to get a license to sell food separately from the city?

        • [Rock]

           I didn’t claim that Kickstarter was “about making opensource software”. I didn’t demand anything. I’m just pointing out that I see little difference between this and say, Microsoft asking for donations to kick-start Windows 8. Because the developers have little money, we should pledge so they can develop and distribute software the general public has no control over? Hardly inspiring.

          I certainly won’t be helping out, but hey, knock yourself out.

  • [Ean Moody]

    He’s not actually asking for donations. He’s asking for investment, primarily in the form of pre-orders. Offering a pay-what-you-want game on the condition that you receive enough in pre-orders to cover development isn’t exactly misanthropic….

    And yeah. He is. He’s trying to make a really interesting, innovative game that’s good for the developer community. I kicked in $5 because I want to see it made. Even if it isn’t open source, even if it doesn’t launch instantly on every OS ever. 

• [Reil]

  Interesting.  It doesn’t seem like it’ll hit its kickstarter asking price, though. :c

• [Mark Dow]

  I’m all for the goals of this project. But I hope they invest in a labcoat or two that fits young women. Ada is not enough.

• [Alex Peake]

  We are picking lab coat styles, I would love to know what the most stylish ladies’ lab coats are if you have recommendations send them to [e-mail]!