Emi Brings His Code to Life!

Emi loves to animate, draw comic strips, and would love to be a video game producer when he grows up! He even has his own comic series where he has created a story for his stick characters. Emi lives in Vermont and likes playing video games outside of school. When he is in school, he loves tech time because that’s when they get to work on projects using their Chromebooks. We had the chance to speak with Emi about his coding expertise–here’s what he and his mom, Raquel, had to say!

How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding? I got into it because I watched a lot of other people code and I wanted to code myself. I can say that I’ve been coding for a year!

How did you learn how to use Tynker when you were first starting out? How I started out was doing the cow joke one. Then the second one I did was a Minecraft mod, then I started actually making games.

How have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker? I saw an improvement in all my coding when I learned how to use variables!

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I felt really, really excited!

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far?  I like the one that was featured, “Plane Dodging Stick Man.” My second favorite one is the crazy coloring series, because they allow you to switch between colors instead of being forced to use one.

“Plane Dodging Stick Man”

How do you get inspiration for your projects? Half the time I get it from my mind and the other times I get it from the community board!

Why do you like to code? I have a lot of reasons why I like to code. I just like to code because it lets me feel free to do what I really want.

Do you have a favorite code block? Ohh, broadcast is my favorite! It makes me do so many other things!

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I publish it all the way and then as soon as I publish it, probably like a few days or a day after, I start updating it.

What are you planning to make next? I want to update “Plane Dodging Stick Man.”

What’s the best thing about Tynker? I like that it’s so easy for drag and drop coding and as soon as you’re done with your coding, you just feel really good!

How do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future? I think that if I continue coding, maybe I can create a lot of other video games that release on gaming consoles!

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes, definitely! So that they can express their own selves too!

What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? I would tell them: first, you experiment, and then on a second project you’ll learn everything from the first project. So, you’ll just experiment with the first project and then you’ll do the actual game on the second project!

Raquel, Emi’s mom, loves the fact that Emi is learning to code! “First, we’re very proud of him, that he has found something that he loves to do and that’s developing him as well. So, he’s not just sitting watching TV. We allow him to do that and play video games of course, but he’s not just interested in doing that,” she told us.

Whenever Emi has trouble with coding, his parents encourage him to persevere and stay positive. Raquel explained: “He’s very creative in the things that he likes to do and I just love that he doesn’t stop. Even if he finds something that’s frustrating, he’ll come and show me or my husband and we’ll sit with him and [say], ‘try this and try that,’ and he just doesn’t give up. It teaches him not only about the code but also some skills like patience and being motivated.”

We want to thank Emi and Raquel for taking the time to sit with us and tell us about their experience with coding and Tynker. We can’t wait to see what Emi comes up with next! Happy coding!