Nobody can deny the enormous deficit of programmers that the world of computing suffers these days. And the vast majority agree that part of the solution lies in stimulating and providing ample resources to the youngest minds so they learn to program. Like other similar projects, Code Kingdoms proposes the idea of learning JavaScript by playing, whether on the computer or on the iPad.
We are going through a situation that causes great concern among experts. Technology is everywhere, and access to computers is increasingly simple, but very few users sit down to program on them. Mobile devices have been presented as consumption platforms, which translates into a gigantic market waiting for the next great application. However, writing code is an activity that remains outside traditional educational circles. The Raspberry Pi was born with the goal of bringing affordable hardware to schools and assisting programming initiatives, but even that is not enough. There is still a very significant gap between the future programmer and the code, so the bridges must be easy to cross.
Among those bridges, we find video games. Code Hero, CodeCombat, Nessbots and CodeSpells are four excellent examples, and this time we discover Code Kingdoms. At first glance it is an adventure, action and tower defense game in which we must choose an avatar, defend our castle from the Glitches that destroy everything, and conquer new territory. But in addition to fighting with the keyboard and the touch screen, it is also necessary to do it with small pieces of code. The plan of Code Kingdoms is to guide the youngest through simple associations, but as they gain skill, they will have to write their own code if they want to progress.
Code Kingdoms has been specially optimized for iPad users, but it also works in traditional web browsers. I personally recommend Google Chrome, since the game showed slightly superior performance in it, although Firefox will run it without major problems. The game has two versions: Home and School, the latter used in schools in the United Kingdom. Of course, nobody can force a child to program, but if the little ones at home enjoy computers and video games, I am sure that at least one visit to the world of programming will not hurt, quite the opposite.
