Inspired by elements of Pokemon Go and Duolingo, “Terra Coda” is a 7+ adventure game with the purpose of teaching kids how to code. We decided to develop Terra Coda due to the increased desire nationwide to engage children in computer science as early as possible. With the target audience of educators, parents, and any kid with access to a smart device, we believed Terra Coda, or “the most fun way to learn code”, would be a success. Terra Coda includes three realms modeled after three prominent coding languages. There is the jungle world for learning Python, the underwater world for learning C, and the café shop for learning Java. The idea was to convey coding as something both relatable and unique, and maintain elements of a fun adventure game in order to make learning code seem exciting. The incentive is to complete as many coding challenges as possible and, in doing so, collect a series of trophies to be displayed in a trophy case on the app. The interactive element comes in when kids can compare their trophy cases with one another. Not only will this get kids excited about playing and succeeding in Terra Coda (to have the best trophies to show off and ultimate “bragging rights”), but also it will make our single-player game a more collaborative and social experience.
