CodeCombat – programming can be as much fun as a game

CodeCombat is a multiplayer programming game for learning how to code. The ultimate goal of CodeCombat is to bring more users into the field of computer programming by making the logic and syntax more accessible and enjoyable to learn. The end game is to educate a whole new generation of computer programmers that started their journey by slaying ogres and defending their castles from oncoming enemy hordes.

CodeCombat teaches Python, JavaScript, and other languages directly in the browser.

CodeCombat itself can be found on GitHub under the free MIT license. All the art assets (sprites, backgrounds, sound effects, etc.) can also be found on GitHub and are published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. This allows easy use of the game artwork for projects of students.

You can subscribe online or setup a dev environment on Windows, Mac or Linux yourself.   You need to be able to follow instructions and have some basic technical knowledge.

While the setup on the Mac and Linux are straight forward, Windows is the hardest to get working! (CodeCombat Wiki)

I have setup a local dev environment on my Mac for my daughter, as she does not play regularly but loves to tinker with it from time to time … learning Javascript!

Used some AppleScript  magic and Automator to ease the startup of the setup when needed. The setup might vary on your end, as I am using iTerm2 as a Terminal replacement.

on run {input, parameters}

        
        set app_name to "mongod"

        set user_name to "pzTV"

        set path_to_codecombat to "/Users/pzTV/Entwicklung/"

 
        set the_pids to (do shell script "ps ax | grep " & (quoted form of app_name) & "| grep -v grep | awk '{printf \"%d \", $1}'")

        do shell script ("for PID in " & the_pids & "; do kill -9 $PID; done ")

        
        tell application "iTerm2"

                create window with profile "Mongo"

                tell current window

                        
                        tell current session
                                write text "cd " & path_to_codecombat & "codecombat ; ./bin/coco-mongodb"

                        end tell

                end tell

                tell current window

                        create tab with profile "CodeCombat"

                        tell current session
                                write text "cd " & path_to_codecombat & "codecombat ; npm start"

                        end tell

                        
                end tell

                
                
        end tell

        
        delay 15

        
        tell application "Google Chrome"

                open location "192.168.1.32:3000"

                
        end tell

        

end run

 

CodeCombat is a really fun way to get into programming and keep your kids motivated.

CodeCombat Website / GitHub