#Codemancer

[e6b3ff]

omg its been almost a year since the last time I logged here

a lot of things happened (I dont think anyone will read but anyways) I lived with my father for two months without wifi lol then I moved to the countryside with my mom and its been 4 months I guess? I still dont feel like a part of this place, still struggling to get out etc but its been peaceful even though sometimes I miss my (ex)home....

OH and I got into college (again...) aiming to be a codemancer (￣ー￣)ｂ

[nerdybookahs]

Krikket from Nerd Girl Thoughts shared the idea for the “Give Back to an Indie Developer” blogging challenge. I love the idea and immediately went to take a look at Itch.io. It was difficult to decide for one game as several caught my interest.

I decided to give “Codemancer” a try. A game that is aimed at children and youths (aged 6 to 12). It’s a story-based game with the goal of teaching you how to code. The game costs $10, but at the time of writing this, it’s free. It is also available on Steam, but not on sale there at the moment.

“Codemancer brings the mystery of magic and the exhilaration of learning to code together in a fantasy universe that uses spell casting as a way to teach and learn programming skills.”

The surrounding story is about a girl who starts her first day at a wizard school where she’s learning how to become a codemancer. There, she gets a familiar (a choice between a cat, a dog or a bird) which she’ll give commands to in order to move through the map made of hexagonal fields. This is done by selecting commands in advance from start to end. At some point, her father gets abducted and she has to go save him.

You start by entering simple commands like “jump”, “turn right”, “jump” to get where you want to go. You can also repeat sequences (“jump”, “turn right”, “jump”, “turn right”) or repeat a single command several times (“jump” x5). For me as an adult, it’s very easy, of course. And then there’s repeat inside another repeat. I’d describe it as teaching kids how coding algorithms work. The debugging part works because you can see your character and her familiar move while the sequence is running on the right side of the screen. So you get a visual feedback where the sequence isn’t working – e. g., the character is jumping outside of the map because you forgot to turn her right again before letting her jump. You can do runs of your commands whenever you wish as there is no failure when it’s not working. This is good because it saves children from becoming too frustrated and giving up.

I assume it’s too difficult for your average 6-year old. Then again, the repeat sequences aren’t needed. A kid can just use one command after the other: Jump, jump, turn right, turn right,… – with some help, this should also work with younger children then. So, no matter the kid’s age, even if they juse every command one after the other, they will succeed.

The story is very kid-friendly as the things they attack aren’t living beings, but rather inanimate objects conjured by other codemancers. This is said at the very beginning and the character expresses her joy as she can then smash them without a bad conscience.

Being a psychologist in the educational sector, I always love finding educational games that don’t look or feel like an educational game immediately… the kind that seems to be educational first, game second. Everything here voiced, so the kids can listen and don’t need to read. The voice-over is very well done and the main character is quite loveable. It may become a bit too repetitive at some point, but the story keeps the player engaged. It’s definitely a game I would recommend to families with children in the appropriate age… or even to adults. I played it, too, after all!

  Codemancer - Give Back to an Indie Developer #Blapril2020 #indiegame #Codemancer Krikket from Nerd Girl Thoughts shared the idea for the “Give Back to an Indie Developer” blogging challenge…

[puillustrated]

undefined

Time to face the wrath of Obelisk the Tor... wait... different kind of Obelisk, rising from the ground. Happy Tuesday everyone!

- - - - - - 

 #PuiChe #Puillustrated #Codemancer #ImportantLittleGames #Animation #Indiegame #animated #loop #DigitalArt #Instart #Instartist #nature #motion #2Danimation #IndieDevelopment #education #Programing #coding #learning #puzzle #Obelisk #ObeliskTheTormentor

[red-taileddolphin]

codemancer with a rubber duck as his familiar

[oyungunlugu-blog]

Hafta sonunda oynanabilecek ücretsiz oyunlar..

Corona her kesimden insanı içeri hapsetmiş olsada biz oyuncular anın tadını çıkarabiliyoruz. Bu sıkıcı günlerde sizlere ücretsiz oyunların bir listesini hazırladık. **PC**, **Xbox**, **PS4** oyunlarından oluşan liste bir hayli ilginizi çekecek. Tabii ki, ücretsiz aylık oyunlara erişmenizi sağlayan bir hizmete zaten abone olabileceğinizi hatırlamak önemlidir. **PlayStation Plus**, **Xbox Live Gold** ve **Twitch Prime**'ın şu anda Mart ayı için ücretsiz oyunları var ve Nisan ayında daha fazlası bekleniyor. Hadi gelin listeye göz atalım.. PS4 Oyunları PS Plus: * Shadow of the Colossus * Sonic Forces * Free Xbox One games * Crackdown * Crackdown 2 * Too Human * Games with Gold: * Batman: The Enemy Within * Shantae: Half-Genie Hero * Sonic Generations PC * Akalabeth: World of Doom * Alder's Blood Prologue * Beneath a Steel Sky * Bio Menace * Builders of Egypt: Prologue * Cayne * Doomdark's Revenge * Eschalon: Book I * Flight of the Amazon Queen * Hello Neighbor Alpha Version * Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy * Legend of Keepers: Prologue * The Lords of Midnight * Lure of the Temptress * Overload - Playable Teaser * Postal: Classic and Uncut * Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves * Shadow Warrior Classic Complete * Stargunner * Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius * Teenagent * Treasure Adventure Game * Tyrian 2000 * Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar * Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams * Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire Steam: * 100% Orange Juice! * 200% Mixed Juice! * Acceleration of Suguri * Barro * Between Two Castles * The Deed * Drawful 2 * Goat of Duty * Hellion * Martian Law * Nephise Begins * Project Mercury Epic Games Store: * Figment * Tormentor X Punisher * World War Z * Uplay: * Child of Light * Rabbids Coding Twitch Prime: * Bomber Crew * Epistory - Typing Chronicles * Furi * Mugsters * Whispers of a Machine * Itch.io: * 0°N 0°W * Becalm * Cardinal Chains * Codemancer * Cosmic Rochambo * Death Ray Manta SE * Far Future Tourism * Fidel Dungeon Rescue * Fjords * From Orbit * Galactic Wars * Gravity Garden * Gyossait Deluxe Edition * Lucah: Born of a Dream * Macboat 64 * Monad * Mu Cartographer * No Response * Polymute * The Restless * The Sands of Voltrack * Shu's Garden * Soko Loco * Subserial Network * WitchWay iOS Games * Cat Quest * Drawful 2 (Apple TV Only) * Forma.8 Go * Impossible Road * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Simulacra Android games * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Free Stadia games * GRID * SteamWorld Dig 2 * SteamWorld Quest * Free-to-play (limited time) * Arms (Nintendo Switch Online subscribers only) * Battleblock Theater * Castle Crashers * Football Manager * Ghost Recon: Breakpoint * Pit People * Insurgency Sandstorm * Cities Skylines * Kerbal Space Program Sizlerde [play station network](https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/search?query=playsta) ürünlerini avantajla sahip olabilmek için **Durmaplay**'i ziyaret etmeyi unutmayın. https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/store/playstation-network/news/hafta-sonunda-oynanabilecek-ucretsiz-oyunlar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[durmaplay-blog]

Hafta sonunda oynanabilecek ücretsiz oyunlar..

Corona her kesimden insanı içeri hapsetmiş olsada biz oyuncular anın tadını çıkarabiliyoruz. Bu sıkıcı günlerde sizlere ücretsiz oyunların bir listesini hazırladık. **PC**, **Xbox**, **PS4** oyunlarından oluşan liste bir hayli ilginizi çekecek. Tabii ki, ücretsiz aylık oyunlara erişmenizi sağlayan bir hizmete zaten abone olabileceğinizi hatırlamak önemlidir. **PlayStation Plus**, **Xbox Live Gold** ve **Twitch Prime**'ın şu anda Mart ayı için ücretsiz oyunları var ve Nisan ayında daha fazlası bekleniyor. Hadi gelin listeye göz atalım.. PS4 Oyunları PS Plus: * Shadow of the Colossus * Sonic Forces * Free Xbox One games * Crackdown * Crackdown 2 * Too Human * Games with Gold: * Batman: The Enemy Within * Shantae: Half-Genie Hero * Sonic Generations PC * Akalabeth: World of Doom * Alder's Blood Prologue * Beneath a Steel Sky * Bio Menace * Builders of Egypt: Prologue * Cayne * Doomdark's Revenge * Eschalon: Book I * Flight of the Amazon Queen * Hello Neighbor Alpha Version * Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy * Legend of Keepers: Prologue * The Lords of Midnight * Lure of the Temptress * Overload - Playable Teaser * Postal: Classic and Uncut * Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves * Shadow Warrior Classic Complete * Stargunner * Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius * Teenagent * Treasure Adventure Game * Tyrian 2000 * Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar * Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams * Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire Steam: * 100% Orange Juice! * 200% Mixed Juice! * Acceleration of Suguri * Barro * Between Two Castles * The Deed * Drawful 2 * Goat of Duty * Hellion * Martian Law * Nephise Begins * Project Mercury Epic Games Store: * Figment * Tormentor X Punisher * World War Z * Uplay: * Child of Light * Rabbids Coding Twitch Prime: * Bomber Crew * Epistory - Typing Chronicles * Furi * Mugsters * Whispers of a Machine * Itch.io: * 0°N 0°W * Becalm * Cardinal Chains * Codemancer * Cosmic Rochambo * Death Ray Manta SE * Far Future Tourism * Fidel Dungeon Rescue * Fjords * From Orbit * Galactic Wars * Gravity Garden * Gyossait Deluxe Edition * Lucah: Born of a Dream * Macboat 64 * Monad * Mu Cartographer * No Response * Polymute * The Restless * The Sands of Voltrack * Shu's Garden * Soko Loco * Subserial Network * WitchWay iOS Games * Cat Quest * Drawful 2 (Apple TV Only) * Forma.8 Go * Impossible Road * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Simulacra Android games * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Free Stadia games * GRID * SteamWorld Dig 2 * SteamWorld Quest * Free-to-play (limited time) * Arms (Nintendo Switch Online subscribers only) * Battleblock Theater * Castle Crashers * Football Manager * Ghost Recon: Breakpoint * Pit People * Insurgency Sandstorm * Cities Skylines * Kerbal Space Program Sizlerde [play station network](https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/search?query=playsta) ürünlerini avantajla sahip olabilmek için **Durmaplay**'i ziyaret etmeyi unutmayın. https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/store/playstation-network/news/hafta-sonunda-oynanabilecek-ucretsiz-oyunlar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[oyundefteri-blog]

Hafta sonunda oynanabilecek ücretsiz oyunlar..

Corona her kesimden insanı içeri hapsetmiş olsada biz oyuncular anın tadını çıkarabiliyoruz. Bu sıkıcı günlerde sizlere ücretsiz oyunların bir listesini hazırladık. **PC**, **Xbox**, **PS4** oyunlarından oluşan liste bir hayli ilginizi çekecek. Tabii ki, ücretsiz aylık oyunlara erişmenizi sağlayan bir hizmete zaten abone olabileceğinizi hatırlamak önemlidir. **PlayStation Plus**, **Xbox Live Gold** ve **Twitch Prime**'ın şu anda Mart ayı için ücretsiz oyunları var ve Nisan ayında daha fazlası bekleniyor. Hadi gelin listeye göz atalım.. PS4 Oyunları PS Plus: * Shadow of the Colossus * Sonic Forces * Free Xbox One games * Crackdown * Crackdown 2 * Too Human * Games with Gold: * Batman: The Enemy Within * Shantae: Half-Genie Hero * Sonic Generations PC * Akalabeth: World of Doom * Alder's Blood Prologue * Beneath a Steel Sky * Bio Menace * Builders of Egypt: Prologue * Cayne * Doomdark's Revenge * Eschalon: Book I * Flight of the Amazon Queen * Hello Neighbor Alpha Version * Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy * Legend of Keepers: Prologue * The Lords of Midnight * Lure of the Temptress * Overload - Playable Teaser * Postal: Classic and Uncut * Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves * Shadow Warrior Classic Complete * Stargunner * Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius * Teenagent * Treasure Adventure Game * Tyrian 2000 * Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar * Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams * Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire Steam: * 100% Orange Juice! * 200% Mixed Juice! * Acceleration of Suguri * Barro * Between Two Castles * The Deed * Drawful 2 * Goat of Duty * Hellion * Martian Law * Nephise Begins * Project Mercury Epic Games Store: * Figment * Tormentor X Punisher * World War Z * Uplay: * Child of Light * Rabbids Coding Twitch Prime: * Bomber Crew * Epistory - Typing Chronicles * Furi * Mugsters * Whispers of a Machine * Itch.io: * 0°N 0°W * Becalm * Cardinal Chains * Codemancer * Cosmic Rochambo * Death Ray Manta SE * Far Future Tourism * Fidel Dungeon Rescue * Fjords * From Orbit * Galactic Wars * Gravity Garden * Gyossait Deluxe Edition * Lucah: Born of a Dream * Macboat 64 * Monad * Mu Cartographer * No Response * Polymute * The Restless * The Sands of Voltrack * Shu's Garden * Soko Loco * Subserial Network * WitchWay iOS Games * Cat Quest * Drawful 2 (Apple TV Only) * Forma.8 Go * Impossible Road * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Simulacra Android games * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Free Stadia games * GRID * SteamWorld Dig 2 * SteamWorld Quest * Free-to-play (limited time) * Arms (Nintendo Switch Online subscribers only) * Battleblock Theater * Castle Crashers * Football Manager * Ghost Recon: Breakpoint * Pit People * Insurgency Sandstorm * Cities Skylines * Kerbal Space Program Sizlerde [play station network](https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/search?query=playsta) ürünlerini avantajla sahip olabilmek için **Durmaplay**'i ziyaret etmeyi unutmayın. https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/store/playstation-network/news/hafta-sonunda-oynanabilecek-ucretsiz-oyunlar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[oyunpark-blog]

Hafta sonunda oynanabilecek ücretsiz oyunlar..

Corona her kesimden insanı içeri hapsetmiş olsada biz oyuncular anın tadını çıkarabiliyoruz. Bu sıkıcı günlerde sizlere ücretsiz oyunların bir listesini hazırladık. **PC**, **Xbox**, **PS4** oyunlarından oluşan liste bir hayli ilginizi çekecek. Tabii ki, ücretsiz aylık oyunlara erişmenizi sağlayan bir hizmete zaten abone olabileceğinizi hatırlamak önemlidir. **PlayStation Plus**, **Xbox Live Gold** ve **Twitch Prime**'ın şu anda Mart ayı için ücretsiz oyunları var ve Nisan ayında daha fazlası bekleniyor. Hadi gelin listeye göz atalım.. PS4 Oyunları PS Plus: * Shadow of the Colossus * Sonic Forces * Free Xbox One games * Crackdown * Crackdown 2 * Too Human * Games with Gold: * Batman: The Enemy Within * Shantae: Half-Genie Hero * Sonic Generations PC * Akalabeth: World of Doom * Alder's Blood Prologue * Beneath a Steel Sky * Bio Menace * Builders of Egypt: Prologue * Cayne * Doomdark's Revenge * Eschalon: Book I * Flight of the Amazon Queen * Hello Neighbor Alpha Version * Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy * Legend of Keepers: Prologue * The Lords of Midnight * Lure of the Temptress * Overload - Playable Teaser * Postal: Classic and Uncut * Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves * Shadow Warrior Classic Complete * Stargunner * Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius * Teenagent * Treasure Adventure Game * Tyrian 2000 * Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar * Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams * Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire Steam: * 100% Orange Juice! * 200% Mixed Juice! * Acceleration of Suguri * Barro * Between Two Castles * The Deed * Drawful 2 * Goat of Duty * Hellion * Martian Law * Nephise Begins * Project Mercury Epic Games Store: * Figment * Tormentor X Punisher * World War Z * Uplay: * Child of Light * Rabbids Coding Twitch Prime: * Bomber Crew * Epistory - Typing Chronicles * Furi * Mugsters * Whispers of a Machine * Itch.io: * 0°N 0°W * Becalm * Cardinal Chains * Codemancer * Cosmic Rochambo * Death Ray Manta SE * Far Future Tourism * Fidel Dungeon Rescue * Fjords * From Orbit * Galactic Wars * Gravity Garden * Gyossait Deluxe Edition * Lucah: Born of a Dream * Macboat 64 * Monad * Mu Cartographer * No Response * Polymute * The Restless * The Sands of Voltrack * Shu's Garden * Soko Loco * Subserial Network * WitchWay iOS Games * Cat Quest * Drawful 2 (Apple TV Only) * Forma.8 Go * Impossible Road * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Simulacra Android games * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Free Stadia games * GRID * SteamWorld Dig 2 * SteamWorld Quest * Free-to-play (limited time) * Arms (Nintendo Switch Online subscribers only) * Battleblock Theater * Castle Crashers * Football Manager * Ghost Recon: Breakpoint * Pit People * Insurgency Sandstorm * Cities Skylines * Kerbal Space Program Sizlerde [play station network](https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/search?query=playsta) ürünlerini avantajla sahip olabilmek için **Durmaplay**'i ziyaret etmeyi unutmayın. https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/store/playstation-network/news/hafta-sonunda-oynanabilecek-ucretsiz-oyunlar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[oyunarsiv-blog]

Hafta sonunda oynanabilecek ücretsiz oyunlar..

Corona her kesimden insanı içeri hapsetmiş olsada biz oyuncular anın tadını çıkarabiliyoruz. Bu sıkıcı günlerde sizlere ücretsiz oyunların bir listesini hazırladık. **PC**, **Xbox**, **PS4** oyunlarından oluşan liste bir hayli ilginizi çekecek. Tabii ki, ücretsiz aylık oyunlara erişmenizi sağlayan bir hizmete zaten abone olabileceğinizi hatırlamak önemlidir. **PlayStation Plus**, **Xbox Live Gold** ve **Twitch Prime**'ın şu anda Mart ayı için ücretsiz oyunları var ve Nisan ayında daha fazlası bekleniyor. Hadi gelin listeye göz atalım.. PS4 Oyunları PS Plus: * Shadow of the Colossus * Sonic Forces * Free Xbox One games * Crackdown * Crackdown 2 * Too Human * Games with Gold: * Batman: The Enemy Within * Shantae: Half-Genie Hero * Sonic Generations PC * Akalabeth: World of Doom * Alder's Blood Prologue * Beneath a Steel Sky * Bio Menace * Builders of Egypt: Prologue * Cayne * Doomdark's Revenge * Eschalon: Book I * Flight of the Amazon Queen * Hello Neighbor Alpha Version * Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy * Legend of Keepers: Prologue * The Lords of Midnight * Lure of the Temptress * Overload - Playable Teaser * Postal: Classic and Uncut * Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves * Shadow Warrior Classic Complete * Stargunner * Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius * Teenagent * Treasure Adventure Game * Tyrian 2000 * Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar * Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams * Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire Steam: * 100% Orange Juice! * 200% Mixed Juice! * Acceleration of Suguri * Barro * Between Two Castles * The Deed * Drawful 2 * Goat of Duty * Hellion * Martian Law * Nephise Begins * Project Mercury Epic Games Store: * Figment * Tormentor X Punisher * World War Z * Uplay: * Child of Light * Rabbids Coding Twitch Prime: * Bomber Crew * Epistory - Typing Chronicles * Furi * Mugsters * Whispers of a Machine * Itch.io: * 0°N 0°W * Becalm * Cardinal Chains * Codemancer * Cosmic Rochambo * Death Ray Manta SE * Far Future Tourism * Fidel Dungeon Rescue * Fjords * From Orbit * Galactic Wars * Gravity Garden * Gyossait Deluxe Edition * Lucah: Born of a Dream * Macboat 64 * Monad * Mu Cartographer * No Response * Polymute * The Restless * The Sands of Voltrack * Shu's Garden * Soko Loco * Subserial Network * WitchWay iOS Games * Cat Quest * Drawful 2 (Apple TV Only) * Forma.8 Go * Impossible Road * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Simulacra Android games * Lara Croft GO * Monument Valley 2 * Free Stadia games * GRID * SteamWorld Dig 2 * SteamWorld Quest * Free-to-play (limited time) * Arms (Nintendo Switch Online subscribers only) * Battleblock Theater * Castle Crashers * Football Manager * Ghost Recon: Breakpoint * Pit People * Insurgency Sandstorm * Cities Skylines * Kerbal Space Program Sizlerde [play station network](https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/search?query=playsta) ürünlerini avantajla sahip olabilmek için **Durmaplay**'i ziyaret etmeyi unutmayın. https://www.durmaplay.com/tr/store/playstation-network/news/hafta-sonunda-oynanabilecek-ucretsiz-oyunlar?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[theburningofbooks-blog]

Building a heroine

Lovely, ain't she? That's my sister. (The one on the left. The other one is her stage-sister. Like a Coraline critter, yes.)

Even before I started writing a single word for the Codemancer novel, I knew I wanted a heroine rather than a hero. But then I caught myself wondering: what would she be like? Mass media has popularized the idea of svelte, skinny people who are somehow disarmingly strong or competent. (Which is not to say they can't be, but sometimes it's just silly. Post-apocalyptic heroines cannot afford to be delicate. They have armies to lead, damn it.) The Atlantic's Julianne Ross sums it up here, really:

In Mortal Instruments, for example, Clary Frayis “delicate” and “slender,” with a small chest and “narrow hips.” Lena Duchannes, the most powerful “caster” (i.e., witch) in the Beautiful Creatures series, earned her nickname “Lena Beana” because her grandmother thought she was “skinny as a string bean.” We learn that the tenacious heroine of Blood Red Road (a best-selling “Mad Max for girls”) is “scrawny” before we even learn her name. And, of course, there’s The Hunger Games, which makes it clear that Katniss Everdeen is “smaller naturally,” even in comparison with the other members of her starving district. Some readers became so attached to the image of a short, emaciated girl claiming victory in the battle-royal arena that when Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss, multiple critics complained that she was too “big-boned” for the part.

Needless to say, I didn't want another cat-hipped sylph introduced to the literary mix. I also didn't want to feature a very large girl, although that had nothing to do with pop-culture ideals and everything to do with what I personally had in mind: someone average. I wanted someone who was in between both extremes. I wanted someone who was athletic but not built exclusively out of sculpted muscles. I wanted someone with a softness to their faces and a cord of flesh around their waist, who could be strong and identifiable all at the same time.

Which is how I ended up drawing inspiration from my little sister. She's about five feet tall and she climbs up silk ropes attached to ceilings for fun. She does parkour, teaches people yoga, and still pigs out on chocolate. She's your every girl who went ahead and decided to make a career out of physical activity but could have just as easily went into something more cerebral. She looks like how I imagine our protagonist would look like in ten years, if she eventually came to make the same decisions that my sister did.

The other reason as to why my sister became a basis for the character is, I guess, this article from video game luminary Jenn Frank entitled Allow Natural Death. which is gorgeous and heart-breaking and the kind of writing that will stick with you forever. In it, she talks about Super Hexagon, her adoptive mother’s last days, and humanity’s complex relationship with death. And love letters that have nothing to do with romance, and everything with the raw, beating emotion that gives reason to our daily lives.

I often tell freelancers that every article they write should be a love letter to just one person: they ought to picture that person, maybe pine a little for her or his love, as they write directly to that person. The Creatures column, I’d written directly to my mother.

In many ways, The Missing Familiars is a love letter to my sister, a telegram to the girl she used to be. When she was the same age as the main character, she began dieting feverishly in a bid to look like everyone else. More than a decade later, she confessed that that was the year when her eating disorders began. We joke that it’s the reason that she is so darn short but the knowledge eats at me constantly. I was a confused teenager at the time. I wish I knew enough to have stopped her, to have helped her make the right choices there and then. But I didn’t and I can't change that.

I can, however, determine what the heroine of The Missing Familiars will be like and the kind of values that she might end up sharing with tweens who find themselves with a copy of the book. I can help draw the line and say, "You don't need to be a Victoria's Secret model to be most excellent at life." I can mix up the best parts of my only sibling with a dash of Codemancy, a handful of cautionary parables, and a string of poignant flaws before putting the results out in the world.

Because that's what making something means, isn't it? The ability to shape worlds, to create characters that fall outside of the status quo, and talk about important ideas. If I can't decide that she won't be just another Katniss Everdeen, I might as well go write another Twilight trilogy instead.

With Petrina, the star of The Missing Familiars, I want to show that the role of "hero" is not exclusive to men or petite waifs. It belongs to anyone, really. Of any shape or size. I mean, Petrina is far from little Miss Perfect. She has troubles with peer pressure, and problems distinguishing her desires from her need to fit in with the crowd. She is feisty and headstrong and self-centered in the way only teenagers can be. She treats her familiar abysmally. (What's a familiar and the heck is this Codemancy thing I keep talking about? Well, funny you should ask that...)

But she is also youth's unassailable certainty that life is everything you make of it and hope and unmolded clay that might one day be forged into something wonderful. She is strong but not sure, a little bit of faith and hormonal anxiety, and a total gelato addict. I can't change what my sister has gone through in life, but I can take everything that she has learned to make a character that might, just maybe, help someone figure out the same questions my sister had at that age.

[johnheatz]

Codemancer

As technology flourishes games become things that are not only fun, but also can teach us how to learn. And now, a game promises to not only teach us the magic of programming.

(more…)

[puillustrated]

undefined

I made some fun little animations for Codemancer tonight, this should give Aurora some fun puzzle to play with. Character animation by Patrick Beavers, the rest by yours truely.

Hope everyone is having a nice relaxing weekend. Cheers!

- - - - - - #PuiChe #Puillustrated #Codemancer #ImportantLittleGames #Animation#Indiegame #animated #loop #DigitalArt #Instart #Instartist #nature #motion#2Danimation #IndieDevelopment #education #Programing #coding#learning #puzzle

[operationrainfall]

LAST CALL FOR FUNDING: Codemancer, Möira, and More

LAST CALL FOR FUNDING: Codemancer, Möira, and More

Gather around, everyone. I’ve got something incredible to tell you about.

Well, two incredible things.

The first is about Amplitude, the remake of the PS2 game that Harmonix was attempting to crowdfund. I brought it up last week as an example of a game that slips through the cracks of our guidelines of either being halfway funded, having a low goal, or having reached its initial goal. The game…

[letsplaysocialjustice]

Check out this game! It's educational, it looks super fun and it's set in a gender-neutral fantasy setting with a female protagonist! They seem to be making a real effort to make the game as inclusive as they possibly can, which is really important. Hype it!

'Codemancer' is an educational game designed for 9 to 14-year-olds (but fun for grownups, too) that teaches the magic behind programming.  Players will code their way through a fantasy world full of rival sorcerers and their minions.  It will be available for PC, Mac, iPad and Android Tablets.

The goal of the game is to be as broad and inclusive as possible.  A gender-neutral fantasy setting, a female protagonist, a narrative backbone, and a language designed for accessibility; these are all ways to knock down barriers that prevent some kids from engaging with programming.  When everybody is making technology, the technology they make will be for everybody.

'Codemancer' features a moving story about a girl trying to grow up and do good despite incredible obstacles.  Aurora's Father's life is in her hands, and that's a lot of pressure for a child just learning to be independent.

[kickstarter]

Project of the Day — Codemancer, a game about a young girl named Aurora who has to save her father from an evil sorcerer. In Aurora's world, magic works the same way as programming does in ours — she has to learn to use spells made up of combined runes to command her familiar. 

[crossroadsalpha]

Indie Haven's weekly roundup of indie game developers who are seeking crowdfunding for projects via Kickstarter.