Learn to Code with Games / Edition 1

by John M. Quick

Overview

A novel approach for the classroom or self-study, Learn to Code with Games makes coding accessible to a broad audience. Structured as a series of challenges that help you learn to code by creating a video game, each chapter expands and builds your knowledge while providing guidelines and hints to solving each challenge.

The book employs a unique problem-solving approach to teach you the technical foundations of coding, including data types, variables, functions, and arrays. You will also use techniques such as pseudocode and process mapping to formulate solutions without needing to type anything into a computer, and then convert the solutions into executable code.

Avoiding jargon as much as possible, Learn to Code with Games shows you how to see coding as a way of thinking and problem solving rather than a domain of obscure languages and syntaxes. Its practical hands-on approach through the context of game development enables you to easily grasp basic programming concepts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498704687
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/14/2015
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John M. Quick is an expert in the strategic enhancement of motivation, learning, and performance. He collaborates with industry and university clients to strategically solve the greatest challenges in motivation, learning, and performance. John earned a PhD in Educational Technology at Arizona State University, where he researched enjoyment and individual differences in games. He created the Gameplay Enjoyment Model (GEM) and Gaming Goal Orientations (GGO) model to guide the design of effective game-based solutions. John has released more than 15 digital games. His games focus on innovative topics, such as learner engagement, employee performance improvement, and cutting-edge interfaces. John has over 5 years of classroom experience at the higher education level. He has instructed courses on computer literacy, game design, and programming at Michigan State University (East Lansing), Arizona State University (Tempe), and DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore.

Table of Contents

Our Hero Is Stuck! Characters and Characteristics. The Bounds of the World. Sprinting and Sneaking. Collectables. Spawning Objects. Taking Inventory. A Party of Heroes. Generating a Tile Map. Spawning Objects on a Tile Map. Level Generation. Game State Management. Gameplay. Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

"Now is definitely the time for a book like this. In the realms of web design and game design, knowledge of coding is essential, even for non-programmers on the team."
—Carrie Heeter, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

From the Publisher