Notes about this preview edition

This preview edition of Robo Teaches Programming will differ from the final version. Some things to note:

• I am using Leanpub to render the preview editions. Final versions will be translated into Bookdown and will use a Tufte-style layout. I also am considering transitioning to MarkDeep to save the translation steps later.
• Leanpub does not like nested ordered (i.e., numbered) lists. Hopefully, Bookdown handles those better. :-) MarkDeep certainly does, and I may switch to that, even for rendering the preview editions.
• Some images are merely placeholders and will be replaced with appropriately-licensed images. Those images are noted in the text.
• Figures, tables, and exercises are mentioned with the generic “Figure/Table/Exercise A-B,” and the actual labels are not printed in the captions. Leanpub does not automate the numbering of figures, tables, and exercises. That will be handled during prepress or in my transition to MarkDeep.
• In-text citations and their related references are formatted neither correctly nor consistently. That also will be handled during prepress.
• Bibliography is in BibTeX syntax. Appropriate formatting will be handled during prepress.
• Link code site has not yet been built. A list of link codes and their URLs is provided at the end of the book for the time being.

As noted at the bottom of most pages, this preview copy is provided for your own, personal use. Do not distribute in whole or in part without express, written consent. © 2019-2023 Robo Technical Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part zero: A history of video games

About the cover

As with many families in the United States during the 1970s, my family’s first computer was the Atari Video Computer System (also known as the Atari VCS or, most commonly, the Atari 2600). My siblings and I spent many hours playing video games on that Atari 2600, usually connected to a black-and-white, nine-inch television in one of the bedrooms. Every once in a while, our parents would let us connect it to the large, color television in the living room.

The cover image is a photograph of a portion of the circuit board of the Atari 2600 that I currently own. In the photograph, you can see the MOS Technology 6507 CPU.

Brief contents

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

A history of video games

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

Introduction to Part zero

About the series

Robo teaches programming is a six-part double-trilogy! We start slowly, introducing you to basic programming concepts with a focus on graphical applications. In the later parts of the series, we introduce you to some more advanced concepts that are fundamental to computer science.

Intended audience

The series is meant to be used in undergraduate college courses, although the books can be used in a high school setting or by anyone else with an interest in programming. Part zero is meant to be used in a CS0-style course; parts one and two for CS1; parts three and four for CS2.

Titles in the series

• Part zero: A history of video games (“The red book.” That’s this book!)
• Part zero mark II: Time to type! (“The orange book.”)
• Part one: The basics (“The yellow book.”)
• Part two: Beyond the basics and introduction to OOP (“The green book.”)
• Part three: Advanced OOP (“The blue book.”)
• Part four: Introduction to data structures and algorithms (“The purple book.”)

About the book

The full name of this book is Robo teaches programming part zero: A history of video games. That is a lot to say and a lot to type! So, for simplicity, I affectionately call this book “the red book.”

In the red book, we start gently and get our feet wet early in a great environment: Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. We begin by exploring an existing game within the environment. By the end of the first chapter, you will have created your first masterpiece! We use the Blocks interface throughout this prelude, yet we learn to create some pretty sophisticated programs. Throughout the book, we also stroll through the history of video games to give our projects some additional context.

Prior knowledge

You do not need any prior knowledge of computer programming to learn from this book. In fact, if you have no prior knowledge of programming, then that is great! This book is designed for you!

You do need to have some basic knowledge of how to use your computer. Specifically, you should know how to do the following things:

• You should understand how to right-click (also known as opposite-click) on an object with your mouse.
• You should know how to drag and drop items.
• You should understand the basic locations in your file system and the basic operations on files.
  • You should know how to find the documents that you create, whether they are stored on your desktop, in a Documents folder, or elsewhere in your file system.
  • You should know where downloaded files are stored on your computer.
  • You should know how to copy files and how to move files on your computer.
• You should know the basics of browsing the Internet with your web browser.
• You should know the purpose of basic components of a computer system, including hardware, software, RAM, and CPU.

As long as you have those basic skills, you will get along just fine with this book!

Book web site and link codes

Throughout this book, I refer to link codes when referring to Internet resources. I have done this for simplicity. The codes are easier to type compared to lengthy URLs, and they can be updated in the event that a URL changes.

You can use the codes in a few ways. The easiest way is to use the book’s website. Open the following URL in your favorite web browser:

Click on the book cover to get to the support page for this book. You can enter link codes on this page. Feel free to add this page to your web browser’s bookmarks or favorites.

Another way to use the link codes is to add the link code to this book’s support URL. For example, to use the link code B-7, you could enter this URL in your favorite browser:

The last way to use the link codes is to look them up in the master list of codes for this book. You can see all of the book’s codes and their URLs here:

Hello, world! Introducing MakeCode Arcade

We are about to embark on a journey through the history of video games. On this journey, you also will learn how to write computer programs! My name is Robo, and I will be your guide.

In this first chapter, we will learn about the programming environment that we will use throughout this book. By the end of the chapter, you will create your very first masterpiece!

If you have not already done so, be sure to flip back a few pages and read the introduction. There is some important information there about link codes and prior knowledge that you will need to know before beginning.

Learning objectives

By reading this chapter and completing its activities, you will master the content when you can do the following:

• List the system requirements for MakeCode Arcade.
• View a project and its code in MakeCode Arcade.
• Connect to the MakeCode Arcade environment.
• Create a new project in MakeCode Arcade.
• Save and load a MakeCode Arcade project.
• Describe hardware that can be used with MakeCode Arcade.
• Describe the history of MakeCode Arcade.

About Microsoft MakeCode

Microsoft describes its MakeCode product as “a free, open source platform for creating engaging computer science learning experiences that support a progression path into real-world programming.”¹ Microsoft has created several MakeCode products, including editors for the BBC micro:bit, Lego Mindstorms, and Mojang’s Minecraft. You can learn more about Microsoft MakeCode by using the link code A-MAKECODE.²

About MakeCode Arcade

In this book, we will use one of the MakeCode products: MakeCode Arcade. Microsoft describes MakeCode Arcade as “a code editor to build Retro Arcade games for the browser and handheld consoles.”³ MakeCode Arcade supports three programming languages: Blocks, JavaScript, and Python. In this book, we will use the Blocks language to learn about program logic. Program logic, or simply logic, is the thought process behind how a program works. We also will learn about program design, which is how a program is structured.

The Blocks language is an appropriate metaphor for both logic and design. We often think of building programs as taking pieces of knowledge that we already know—the blocks—and putting them together in different ways to create different programs.

System Requirements

To create programs in MakeCode Arcade, you will need the following:

• A computer with a web browser
  • MakeCode Arcade is a web-based application, so it can be used on tablets, laptops, and desktops. While MakeCode Arcade can run on smartphones, their limited screen size will make code editing difficult. Playing MakeCode Arcade games on smartphones, however, works really well!
  • MakeCode Arcade can be used with any modern browser.
  • MakeCode Arcade is frequently tested with Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox.
  • MakeCode Arcade is tested with current versions of browsers, so be sure to keep your browser updated.
• A keyboard and a mouse
  • While you can create programs in MakeCode Arcade with a touchscreen and the on-screen keyboard for your device, you will find a better experience when using a keyboard and a mouse.
• An Internet connection
  • Because MakeCode Arcade is a web-based application, you will need an Internet connection to load the interface into your web browser.
  • Once MakeCode Arcade is loaded into your web browser, though, an Internet connection is not required for its core functionality. Note that some functionality within MakeCode Arcade, like loading games from the gallery and interacting with GitHub, requires an Internet connection even after the environment has been loaded.
  • Offline editors (i.e. editors that do not require an Internet connection) for MakeCode are available. Use link code M-OFFLINE to access the latest information on using MakeCode Arcade offline.

You can use the following hardware to enhance your experience when playing MakeCode Arcade games:

• Game controllers
  • MakeCode Arcade games can be written for up to four players. You can use the keyboard for up to two players, but for a better gameplay experience or to accommodate more than two players, you can use game controllers. Any game controller that is compatible with your computer should work in MakeCode Arcade: gamepads, joysticks, flight controllers, arcade controls, etc.
• Dedicated gameplay hardware
  • Besides playing games in your web browser, you can load your games onto separate hardware. Some of these devices are portable, so you can take your games anywhere! More information on these devices appears later in this chapter, in the “Working with hardware” section.

View a MakeCode Arcade project

We will begin our journey through the MakeCode Arcade interface by exploring a game. Use the following link code to launch a clone of Spacewar!

A link like the one above is created in MakeCode Arcade to allow creators to share their games. When you open a link to a shared game, the game is loaded into your browser to allow you to play it. The interface looks like the screenshot in Figure A-B.

The main elements in the interface are described below. We will explore each of these a little later in this chapter.

• Simulator. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, MakeCode Arcade games can be played on dedicated hardware. MakeCode Arcade includes a simulator that acts like that dedicated hardware. In the simulator, you can see the game as it would be displayed on hardware, and you can interact with the game using the same buttons that are available on hardware.
• Code viewer. You can see the game’s code by clicking on Show Code. Here, you can inspect the code and see how the game’s author was able to build the various elements of the game. You can learn a lot just by reading code!
• Code editor. You can load the game’s code into your own editor, too! When you click on Edit Code, you can alter the game any way you like, from changing the graphics to fixing bugs to adding new gameplay.

Start your engines: Playing games in MakeCode Arcade

The game loads in the simulator so that you can play it. Maximize your browser or, better yet, switch to fullscreen mode in your browser by pressing F11 on your keyboard. To exit fullscreen mode, press F11 again.

This game has a splash screen that lists the game controls and the basic object of the game. In video games, a splash screen or attract screen runs while players are not interacting with the game. A splash screen can tell a story or provide information to the players before the game starts. For games that are displayed in an arcade, attract screens are used to draw players to the machine and play the game.

Game controls in MakeCode Arcade

There are several ways to interact with your computer to play games that are made in MakeCode Arcade. You can use game controllers connected to your system if you have them. You do not need game controllers, though, for one- or two-player games in MakeCode Arcade.

Player one can use the on-screen controls in the simulator to play a game. Player one also can use the keyboard. To use the on-screen controls, simply click (or tap if your system has a touchscreen) on the d-pad arrows or on the buttons to activate them. To use the keyboard, refer to Table A-B for the keys that you can use when playing a game.

Player two can use the keys listed in Table A-B.

Peek beneath the hood: A look at the code

After you have played Spacewar! for a little while to get accustomed to the in-game controls, let’s take a look at the code for this game. A game’s code are the instructions that your computer uses to run the game. A creator writes code to add images to a game, to respond to player actions, to change the score, to display the attract screen, and everything else that the game needs to do.

Click the Show Code button at the top of the screen. Your screen should look similar to Figure A-B.

There is a lot of code in this game! Do not become intimidated by the code that you see. In time, and with some practice, you will be able to create programs that are just as complex … and even more so!

Some of the things to investigate in the Show Code interface are described below:

1. Scroll bars. Use the scroll bars to move around the canvas.
2. Canvas. The canvas is where blocks are placed to write code for the game.
3. Blocks. Blocks are used to build the code for the game.

Time for a tune-up: Editing a game in MakeCode Arcade

If you would like to tinker with the code, click the Edit Code button at the top of the interface. This opens the code in MakeCode Arcade so that you can edit it. Your screen will look similar to the screenshot in Figure A-B.

This is now your own copy of the code, and you can change it however you like. Refer to the notes that you made from the previous section, and investigate the blocks that looked interesting to you. As you go through this book, we will get to know all of the controls that you see in the editor interface. For now, though, just explore on your own.

Consider following these steps when you change the code:

1. Make note of the code’s current state before changing the code. Use a screenshot or jot down notes so that you can put the code back the way it was, particularly if you make an error.
2. Make note of the changes that you want to make. Jot down the changes that you plan to make to the code, why you want to change the code, and what you expect the changes to do.
3. Make the changes. Alter the code as you planned.
4. Run the game and observe the new behavior. Did the game change as you expected it to? How so, or how not?
5. Return the code to its original state. If you wish, return the code to its previous state. You do not have to, of course, particularly if you want to see how multiple changes affect the game. It’s your code now! Have fun!

Start MakeCode Arcade

Now that you have played with someone else’s code, we will open the MakeCode Arcade environment without code so that you can explore more of the interface.

You can open the MakeCode Arcade environment from the book’s web site. You also can use the link code M, or you can visit the following URL:

When you open the MakeCode Arcade environment without opening a shared game, you will see something similar to the screenshot in Figure A-B.

Some of the elements of the MakeCode Arcade home screen are described below:

1. Home button. Just about anywhere within the MakeCode Arcade environment, you can click on the Home button to return to this home screen.
2. Settings cog. Click on the settings cog to adjust the settings of MakeCode Arcade. We will explore different settings as we need them.
3. My Projects. As you create projects in MakeCode Arcade, they will appear in the My projects section. You may already have a project if you opened the Spacewar! game in the editor.
4. Gallery. Below the My Projects section is the gallery. There are a lot of built-in projects here! You will get a chance to explore the gallery in just a moment.

Built-in projects

Take some time to explore the gallery on the MakeCode Arcade home screen. For now, do not open any of the projects in the sections called Tutorials, Multipart Tutorials, or Game Design Concepts. We will work with tutorials in the next chapter.

There are many projects that you can explore. Some of the projects were created by the MakeCode Arcade team at Microsoft. Others were created by members of the MakeCode Arcade community. Click on any of the gallery images to get an explanation of the project and a link to the game. Some games will open directly in MakeCode Arcade. Others will take you to the MakeCode forums, which are described later in this chapter.

Your first MakeCode Arcade project

Now that you have spent some time looking at code from other creators, it is time to create your own project. You will create a simple game with two images. The player will be able to move one of the images with the player controls.

Return to the MakeCode Arcade home screen by clicking on the Home button. If you no longer have the MakeCode Arcade editor open, simply visit the MakeCode Arcade home screen by any of the methods listed earlier in this chapter.

Creating a new project in MakeCode Arcade

Exploring the MakeCode Arcade editor

Figure A-B is a screenshot of the MakeCode Arcade editor with a blank canvas (i.e. a blank or empty project). In this section, we will explore some of the components of the interface in more detail.

1. Home button. The Home button will return you to MakeCode Arcade’s home screen.
2. Settings cog. Use the settings cog to adjust different settings in MakeCode Arcade. You also can use the settings cog to print your project and to delete the current project.
3. Simulator. The simulator plays the current game. You learned how to play games in the simulator earlier in this chapter. When editing a project, there are additional controls beneath the simulator. We will learn to use those controls in later chapters.
4. Toolbox drawers. There are many blocks in the MakeCode Arcade environment. The blocks are stored in different drawers in the toolbox. Click on a drawer to open the toolbox and see the blocks in that drawer.
5. Project name. You can change the name of your project with this text box.
6. Save button. You can save a copy of your code as a cartridge with the save button. You will learn more about cartridges later in this chapter.
7. Download button. MakeCode Arcade can send your code to a hardware device with the Download button. You will learn more about hardware for MakeCode Arcade later in this chapter. Follow your hardware’s instructions on how to download code to the device.
8. Canvas. The canvas contains the code for your project. You add blocks to the canvas, and you can drag blocks around the canvas to organize them. The canvas grows automatically as you need more room for your code.
9. Language buttons. You can use the language buttons to show your code in different programming languages. We will use the Blocks language in this book. You can learn about other programming languages in other books in this series.

Planning the first project

Staring at a blank canvas can be intimidating. Where do we begin? For all projects, the best thing to do is to create a plan before writing any code. We will do that now for our first project.

For many projects, we can create a plan by considering the following parts:

• Project name. A descriptive name for the project.
• Project description. The project description provides an overview of the project.
• Housekeeping. Housekeeping items are things that we need to create before the game begins, like the player’s image, a timer, and the game score.
• Events. Events are things that happen in your game as a result of other actions, such as player input or when a player earns a certain score.

We will explore these parts of the project plan in more detail in other projects. We also will expand this project plan as our projects get more complex. In future projects, we will create the plan together. However, for this first project, I will provide you with the plan that we will follow.

Adding the first block

In this book, we will be using blocks to create our programs. After finishing this book, you can learn how to use other languages in MakeCode Arcade.

Let’s add a block to the project. We know we need to add an image that the player can control. For this, we will add a sprite. A sprite is an image with some additional properties that can be manipulated during the game. For now, you will learn just a little bit about how sprites work. You will learn more about sprites in the next chapter.

Great! We have added our first block to our project. Something looks wrong, though, doesn’t it? The new block seems to be crossed out:

Block types

MakeCode Arcade uses several types of blocks. The set sprite block that you just placed on the canvas is called a single block. Single blocks cannot live independently on the canvas. Instead, single blocks must live inside of another type of block, called container blocks. Certain container blocks, called event blocks, can be placed anywhere on the canvas. You will learn more about these types of blocks as you progress through the book.

The on start block

For now, though, we are going to use an event block that is used in most games: the on start block. The on start block is the first block that runs at the beginning of your program. MakeCode Arcade games can only contain one on start block, and this often is where we place housekeeping items before gameplay begins.

According to our project plan for this first project, we will need to add a couple of sprites to our game, and we need to configure one of the sprites to respond to the player’s inputs. We will add these items to the on start block of our program.

Renaming a variable

Read the set sprite block. It contains the following code:

1 set mysprite to sprite ' ' of kind Player

The default name for your sprite is mysprite. That does not sound very descriptive, does it? If you place another set sprite block in your program, can you guess what its name will be?

By adding the set sprite block to your program, you have created a variable. A variable is a place in the computer’s memory which is given a name. We can store information in variables; in this case, we are storing a sprite. When we write programs, we often create many variables. To help us keep better track of our variables, we assign them meaningful names. The name mysprite is not very meaningful, so let’s rename our variable to give it more meaning.

Autosave in MakeCode

Now is a good time to take a break from our first project. You have learned a lot already!

MakeCode automatically saves your work. We can see that now: Click on the Home icon to return to the home screen, and you can see your new project in the My Projects space.

On the home screen, click on your new project, and you are returned to the editor. This time, though, instead of a blank canvas, you are returned right where you left off with your new project. No manual saving necessary!

MakeCode stores your projects in your browser’s data store. The data store a location on your hard drive where web applications can keep data. Because this information is kept in your browser, you will lose your projects (and any other data that MakeCode stores) if you clear your browser’s data store. Also, if you use a different browser or a different computer, you will not see your projects.

Later in this chapter, in the section called “Working with projects,” we will learn another way to store your projects.

Adding another sprite

Using images from the gallery

Take a look at our game in the simulator. If the simulator is not already running, then click on the Play button. We can see from the code that we have added two sprites to our game, but in the simulator, it looks like nothing is happening.

When we created our two sprites, we did not change the default image. A default is a value that is set automatically. For sprites, the default image is blank or empty. Let’s change that now by using the image gallery.

Attaching controls to a sprite

To finish our first project, we need to add the ability for the player to control one of the sprites. MakeCode Arcade makes that easy! Follow these steps:

Working with projects

Saving your project as a cartridge

As mentioned earlier, MakeCode Arcade saves your work automatically to your browser’s data store. This is a useful feature of MakeCode Arcade, but it can fail. Because MakeCode depends on your browser’s data store, all of your work can quickly be erased by clearing your browser’s data store. So, do not think of this as a permanent storage space for your projects. You should get in the habit of saving your work elsewhere.

You can save a copy of your project anytime it is open in the editor. MakeCode Arcade can save your project as a cartridge. In MakeCode Arcade, a cartridge is a special image file with your code stored inside of it. MakeCode Arcade saves cartridges as PNG files.

Keep in mind that this cartridge is a copy of your current code. If you go back into the editor and change any of your code for this project, then your changes will not be reflected in the cartridge. This is a good way to keep previous versions of your projects. Before you make any major changes to a project, save a copy of it. If you make a major error, you can always load the old copy of your code.

Loading a cartridge

Return to the home screen. Notice that you now have two copies of your project in the My Projects area. We do not need this extra copy, so let’s delete one of them.

Deleting a project

Deleting a project removes it from your browser’s data store. Remember that, for this first project, we already have created a cartridge of it. We can safely delete the project from our browser’s data store because we have a copy of it saved on our hard drive.

Notice that MakeCode Arcade warns you before it deletes a project. Deleting a project from your browser’s data store is a permanent action; there is no undo. Be sure you save a project as a cartridge before you delete it from MakeCode Arcade.

Working with hardware

To work with projects in MakeCode Arcade, all you need is a system with a modern web browser. MakeCode Arcade includes a simulator that will run your projects, and you can play games that others create in the simulator.

However, you also can play games on separate hardware that is specifically designed or configured for MakeCode Arcade. Several manufacturers have created boards that work with MakeCode Arcade, including the BrainPad Arcade and the Adafruit PyGamer. Other general-purpose hardware, like the Raspberry Pi and the Adafruit M4, can be configured to run MakeCode Arcade games. You can even build a full-sized, upright arcade cabinet for your MakeCode Arcade games! For more information on hardware that supports MakeCode Arcade, use the link code M-HW.

Sharing your projects

There are several ways to share your projects with others. You already have learned to create a cartridge for your game. You can share that file with others, and they can load your cartridge into MakeCode Arcade. Another way to share a project is to send a copy to the MakeCode servers to get a custom URL.

Now that you have a URL for your project, you can share it however you like. You could post the URL to your blog. You can e-mail the link to friends. You can share the link over social media. You can include the link in a digital portfolio. You also can share the link on the MakeCode forums.

MakeCode forums

The MakeCode team has created a Discourse forum for the MakeCode community. Use the link code M-FORUM to visit the MakeCode forum, or visit the following URL:

In the MakeCode forums, you will find information on the live streams that the MakeCode Arcade team conducts. You also will find games and other projects that creators have shared. Many members of the MakeCode Arcade team participate in the forum, answering questions and sharing updates. You will often find me participating at the forum, too!

The forum is available to the public, but you will need to create an account in order to participate. If you wish to participate in the forum, it is probably best to create a GitHub account. GitHub is a widely-used service to host code, and you can use GitHub with MakeCode Arcade. We will discuss using GitHub in the Part zero mark II book.

Feel free to share your creations with the world through the MakeCode Arcade forum. Be sure to say “Hi!”

History of MakeCode Arcade

MakeCode Arcade’s immediate predecessor was TouchDevelop. TouchDevelop allowed creators to build programs using a Windows Phone. It later expanded to a web interface and allowed for input with a keyboard and mouse. Like MakeCode’s Blocks language, TouchDevelop used interlocking blocks to create programs.

TouchDevelop was retired in June 2019. Several of the team members behind TouchDevelop are also members of the MakeCode team.

Hello, it’s me! (Or is it I?)—Sprites and your hero character

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Learning objectives

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Additional controls in the MakeCode editor

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Deleting blocks

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Undo and redo

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Zooming in and out

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Working with tutorials

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Moving around

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The hero character and sprite

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Player sprite velocity

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Constraining sprite movement

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Using the image editor

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Screen coordinates

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Exploring the screen coordinates

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Sprite coordinates

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Placing your character

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Animating your character

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Installing extensions

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Creating a walking animation

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Creating a spinning wheel

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More complex animations

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Making a background

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Background with a solid color

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Background image

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Animated backgrounds

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Artwork and prototypes

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Additional practice with the image editor

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Answers to review questions

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Which way did it go? Decisions, conditionals, and basic game physics

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Learning objectives

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Software development life cycle

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Step one: Gathering requirements

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Step two: Project analysis

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Step three: Project design

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Step four: Coding

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Step five: Testing

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Step six: Operations

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Step seven: Project archiving

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Other software development life cycles

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Planning a project

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Project documentation

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Algorithms and structured programming

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Flowcharts

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Nassi-Shneiderman diagrams

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Pseudocode

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Princess Pizza

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Documentation in Blocks programs

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Bouncing Burger

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Event-driven programming

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Sprite types

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Pong

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Pong simplified

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Velocity

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Adding sound effects

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Determining the game’s end

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The on game update block

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Boolean expressions

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Correcting an error

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Acceleration

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Decision structures

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Additional tutorials

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Answers to exercises

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What’s the score? Variables and data types

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Learning objectives

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Which button?

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Pong part 2: Complete one-player game

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Pong part 3: Complete two-player game

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Introduction to variables

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Creating variables

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Naming conventions

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Constants and literals

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Variable scope

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Global scope

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Local scope

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Data types in Blocks

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Number

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String

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Sprite and image

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Boolean

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Guess My Number

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Acey Deucey

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Introduction to the Playing Cards extension

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Answers to exercises

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Zap! Debugging part 1

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I’ve made some enemies—Introduction to object-oriented programming

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Visual effects

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Sprite effects

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Scene effects

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Debugging part 2

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Over … and over … and over again—Loops

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Who’s above me? Who’s next to me? Arrays and lists

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Better than right-click-duplicate—Functions

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Naming convention

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Local variables revisited

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Fun name :-) - Strings

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Writing text on the screen

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Fun name :-) - Tile maps and platformers

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Tile maps

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Platformers

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Mazes?

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What’s your name again? Persisting data

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Session object

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Stranger, danger! Security and privacy

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It’s alive! Artificial intelligence

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Fun name :-) - Searching and sorting

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Where to now?

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Additional books in the series

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Learn other languages and programming environments

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Other games to try to build in MakeCode Arcade

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Other programming books

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More on the history of video games

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Appendix - A Blocks style guide

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Project description

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Variable and function naming

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Function description

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Appendix - Common game structures

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Shoe of cards

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Dice

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Appendix - Stopwatch in Blocks

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Part I: Basic stopwatch

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Finished code

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Developing the project plan

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Building the project

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Next steps

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Part II: Advanced stopwatch

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Finished code

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Adding to the project plan

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Incorporate changes into code

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Next steps

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Appendix - Common game mechanics

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Shuffling

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Appendix - Advanced graphics

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Parallax (sprites with depth)

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Appendix - Multiplayer games

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Appendix - Vector math

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Revisiting velocity

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Velocity vectors

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Angles

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Measuring angles

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Review of right triangles

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Trigonomotric functions and right triangles

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Practice with velocity vectors

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Representing π

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Sprite travelling in a random direction

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Another challenge

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Final challenge

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Appendix - A template for Blocks games

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Splash screen

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Titles

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Headlines

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Instruction lists

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Adding images to the splash screen

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Attract mode

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Button handlers

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Appendix - Additional Blocks games (showcase)

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Additional clones

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Credits and licenses

Screenshots of Microsoft MakeCode Arcade include content owned by Microsoft Corporation. Used with permission from Mirosoft.

“Signed Pong Cabinet” by Chris Rand is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

“Spacewar!-PDP-1-20070512” by Joi Ito from Inbamura, Japan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Tennis for Two in 1959” by Brookhaven National Laboratory is released to the public domain.

“Magnavox Odyssey Console Set” by Evan-Amos is released to the public domain.

“TeleGames-Atari-Pong” by Evan-Amos is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Part zero mark II: Time to type!

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About the cover

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Brief contents

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Introduction to Part zero mark II

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About the series

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Intended audience

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Titles in the series

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About the book

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Prior knowledge

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Book web site and link codes

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Hello, World! I’m typing! Introducing JavaScript

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Transitioning from Blocks to JavaScript

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Toolbox

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IntelliSense

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Tooltips

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Style guide

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To grandmother’s house—Revisiting topics from a JavaScript perspective

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SDLC and documentation

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Sprites

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Variables and scope

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Functions

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Return of the Jedi—Object-oriented programming basics

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‘Round and ‘round we go—Loops and arrays

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Hold this, will ya? Working with GitHub

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Introduction to agile methods

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Publishing with GitHub

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Our first game

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Our second game

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Our third game

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Fun title :-) - Advanced graphics and physics

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Parallax (Revisit of Part zero appendix)

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Drawing directly to the screen

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HUD

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Simulating three dimensions

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Fun title :-) - Searching and sorting

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Fun title :-) - Introduction to data structures and algorithms

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Where to now?

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Additional books in the series

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

Learn other languages and programming environments

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

Other games to try to build in MakeCode Arcade

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

Other programming books

This content is not available in the sample book. The book can be purchased on Leanpub at http://leanpub.com/makecode-book.

More on the history of video games

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Appendix - A TypeScript style guide

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Appendix - Common game structures

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Shoe of cards

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Dice

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Appendix - Stopwatch in TypeScript

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Introduction

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TypeScript

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Finished code

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Working with the Text Sprite in TypeScript

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Object-oriented design

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Creating the Stopwatch class

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Adding functionality to the Stopwatch class

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Extras

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Appendix - Common game mechanics

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Shuffling

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Appendix - Lambda and anonymous functions

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Appendix - Filtering and iterating with method calls

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Appendix - A template for JavaScript Games

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Appendix - Additional JavaScript games (showcase)

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Credits and licenses

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Bonus chapter: Can I be a computer scientist?

A question that I get asked frequently is, “What do I need to know to be a computer programmer?” Or, more simply, “Can I become a computer scientist?” Here are my answers to these and related questions, based on my own experience as a computer scientist as well as working with others in this profession.

Can I be a computer scientist?

Of course! Just like anything else, some people will find it a little easier than other people. However, if you find it interesting, and you are willing to work hard at your skill, you absolutely can be a computer programmer.

If you find computer programming interesting, please pursue computer science as a profession. The world is in desperate need of high-quality programmers.

Do I need to be good at math?

Yes … sorta. When I get asked this question, it usually translates to “Do I need to do well in math classes?” You can be good at math and be terrible in math classes … and that usually is because you have had teachers that do not share their knowledge in a way that translates well to you. Nearly everyone can learn math, and nearly everyone has an intrinsic understanding of the basics of mathematics. We all learned how to count, and we all learned how to add, at very young ages, often before entering school. Math is built into almost all of us. Some of us are just able to tap into that basic understanding a little bit better than others.

To be a good computer scientist, you do need to be good at math … in that you need to be good at some fundamental skills in math:

• You need to be good at solving problems. (No, I don’t mean “word problems” or “story problems.”)
• You need to be able to recognize patterns.

You do not need to be an “A” student in your math classes, though.

I really like computers, but I don’t really like programming. Are there other things that I can do?

Absolutely! Computing is a large profession; not everyone involved in the profession is a computer scientist. The profession needs people to do many different things!

If you like computers, but programming doesn’t seem like your cup of tea, then perhaps information technology is more your speed. IT includes areas like network administration and systems administration (i.e. working with “servers”). Or, if you are more artistic-minded, then you might be interested in computer-aided design (e.g. architecture, 3-D modeling, graphics design). If you like building things, then automation (e.g. robotics) may be of interest. If you like numbers, then you may be interested in becoming a data scientist.

Most importantly, find something that is interesting to you. The more interesting something is to you, the more you will be willing to work hard at it, and the better you will get at your craft.

Glossary

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Timeline of video games

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to MakeCode Arcade forum user rymc88 for the inspiration behind some of the content in the Part zero appendix on vector math.

About the author

Alex Kulcsar (“Robo” in his college days) is chair of the computer science programs at American Business & Technology University. He is also CEO and CTO of Robo Technical Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in computer science from American Sentinel University.

Colophon

The preview versions of this book are created in Leanpub with Visual Studio Code. The final print and electronic versions are produced by IngramSpark.

Screenshots were taken in Microsoft Edge.

Link codes

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Bibliography

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Notes