Shulou(Shulou.com)06/01 Report--

In this issue, the editor will bring you about how TileCode is programmed directly on MakeCode Arcade devices. The article is rich in content and analyzes and describes for you from a professional point of view. I hope you can get something after reading this article.

TileCode is a game creation application that allows you to design, code and play games directly on low-cost MakeCode Arcade game devices.

From board games to retro video games

Board games like checkers have been around for thousands of years, and we draw inspiration from them. Pieces can be moved from a square on the board to a nearby square. These rules of the game are usually easy to understand, but the way the game is played is so fascinating that new games can be created by modifying existing board rules.

In contrast, video games have only existed for more than half a century, but they make up a multibillion-dollar, multibillion-user industry. The handheld game devices and game consoles shown below are mainly consumer devices. Creating games for these devices usually requires the use of a computer, which creates a digital divide that separates producers and consumers.

TileCode Vision

TileCode allows the game creation process to take place on handheld devices rather than tablets / laptops / desktops, using only the four arrow keys and the An and B buttons commonly used on most handheld devices. With TileCode, we have created a variety of retro video games, including Snake (gluttonous Snake), Bejeweled (Diamond Maze), Pac-Man (Pac-Man), Boulder Dash (Underground Adventure) and Sokoban (push boxes).

The goal of TileCode is to make everyone the creator of video games. Using the concept of board games (the board is a grid of squares, pieces move from one square to another, and the rules of the game define how they can move), TileCode introduces the concept of computing through video games. Users start at a low level because they can simply play a game and change a rule or element of the game world. Once you are familiar with the application, players can create different types of games. Ultimately, TileCode provides an opportunity for high-level learning activities that require users to complete more complex games.

TileCode: design and coding

As shown on the TileCode home screen (lower left), there are eight game slots available for programming. On an Arcade device, the game configuration is stored in the device's flash memory. In the browser, the game configuration is stored in the browser local storage. For each game, TileCode allows users to select game characters (sprites) and game backgrounds (tiles) from the gallery, modify sprite and block backgrounds, and create game levels by editing game maps, as shown on the other three screens:

The TileCode program is a set of rules, each of which is associated with a wizard. The rules are in the form of When-Do, as shown on the left below (marked "code" on the screen). The When section visually describes the pattern on the local neighborhood of 3x3 around the central elf (in this case player sprite) that matches the block map. The Do section contains commands that are sent to the identified sprite when the pattern matches.

The above rule is triggered when the user presses the right button, the player wizard is on the block map, and there is grass on the block on the player's right. When these conditions are true, the rule sends a move right command to the player. From this example, we can see how TileCode encourages users to explore the relationships between block maps and how rules are triggered based on the patterns displayed on the map. In the rule coding screen (shown above), users can play the game, return to the coding screen to change the rules, and see their impact on the game. You can also access the sliced Map Editor and change the map to enable / disable rule triggering.

Opportunities for creativity and personal expression

"what a person can learn and how he learns depends on what kind of model he has." Seymour Palbert, the Gear of my Childhood.

TileCode provides a unique opportunity for young people to develop their own square and elf pixel art. It also allows users to think about the design of the game world in new ways and how to create different maps for different games. We get inspiration from teachers who ask students to use basic classroom materials to express and improve their game designs before using computers:

In order to better understand how students and parents understand the mechanism of electronic games, and what is their most intuitive strategy for making their own video games or modifying existing games, we are currently holding a series of collaborative design seminars with families. These seminars will inform our future TileCode design and its new features, which are based directly on students' intuitive models of video game mechanisms.

The powerful Computing thinking of low Power Game Pocket PC

TileCode proves that battery-powered game handsets do not need to limit users to the "consumption range". Driven by the rich and long history of board games and the development of players themselves, TileCode points out the future of video game devices, that is, players become creators. We believe that children have access to powerful computing concepts through affordable gaming handheld devices that can help solve the digital divide. This new form of coding / gaming devices provides young people with a personal experience that allows them to modify and create games anytime, anywhere.

This is how TileCode is programmed directly on MakeCode Arcade devices shared by Xiaobian. If you happen to have similar doubts, you might as well refer to the above analysis to understand. If you want to know more about it, you are welcome to follow the industry information channel.

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