Programming game
A programming game is a
As puzzle games
Early games in the genre include System 15000 and Hacker, released in 1984 and 1985 respectively.
Programming games have been used as part of puzzle games, challenging the player to achieve a specific result once the program starts operating. An example of such a game is
Other games incorporate the elements of programming as portions of puzzles in the larger game. For example, Hack 'n' Slash include a metaphor of being able to access the internal programs and variables of objects represented in the game world, pausing the rest of the game as the player engages this programming interface, and modify the object's program as to progress further; this might be changing the state of an object from being indestructible to destructible. Other similar games with this type of programming approach include Transistor, else Heart.Break(), Glitchspace, and Pony Island.[3]
Another approach used in some graphical games with programming elements is to present the player with a
As competitive games
Many programming games involve controlling entities such as robots, tanks or bacteria which seek to destroy each other. Such games can be considered environments of digital organisms, related to artificial life simulations. An early example is Core War (1984), where programs written in a standardized assembly-like language battle for space in a finite memory (virtual magnetic cores). Players are given tools to develop and test out their programs within the game's domain-specific language before submitting the program to a central server. The server then executes the program against others and reports the results to the player, from which they can make changes or improvements to the program.
There are different tournaments and leagues for the programming games where the characters can compete with each other. Usually a script is optimized for a special strategy. Similar approaches are used for more traditional games; the World Computer Chess Championship consists of matches between programs written for the abstract strategy game of chess.
The competitive programming game has also found its way to various
Researchers presented RoboCode as a "problem-based learning" substrate for teaching programming.[6]
Related areas
Open world games that feature the ability for players to construct environments from an array of building blocks have often been used by more advanced players to construct logic circuits and more advanced programs from the fundamental blocks.
Several sites, such as Codecademy, help to teach real-world programming languages through gamification, where video game principles are used to motivate the user.[8]
See also
- Programming games category
- List of digital organism simulators
- Visual programming language
- Zachtronics
References
- ^ Sayer, Matt (October 3, 2016). "Can Videogames Teach You Programming?". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Tarason, Dominic (7 February 2019). "Zachtronics book Zach-Like shows how the puzzle sausage gets made". Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ^ a b Caldwell, Brendan (November 9, 2015). "The 10 Best Hacking, Coding, Computing Games". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Caldwell, Brendan (September 27, 2016). "Wot I Think: Hackmud". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Metz, Cade (September 24, 2014). "The 75-Year Saga Behind a Game That Teaches Preschoolers to Code". Wired. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ O'Kelly, Jackie, and J. Paul Gibson. "RoboCode & problem-based learning: a non-prescriptive approach to teaching programming." ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 38, no. 3 (2006): 217-221.
- ^ Finley, Klint (August 18, 2014). "New Minecraft Mod Teaches You Code as You Play". Wired. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Vincent, Alice (August 19, 2011). "Codecademy 'gamifies' the process of learning Javascript". Wired. Retrieved October 3, 2016.