Rockstar Coder Nickaan Recreated His Dad’s Favorite Game!

This week’s Featured Maker loves to do math in his free time – but that’s not his only hobby! Nine-year-old Nickaan has been playing keyboard for about three years, has some competitive soccer under his belt, and even created the art for his most recent project. According to his mom Pantea, “He’s a singer – all day long, from the moment he wakes up, he sings.”

Nickaan lives and codes in sunny California, and even though he’s only in 4th grade, he’s already on his way to achieving his goals. He aspires to be a mathematician, so it makes sense that his favorite subject in school is math and that coding comes naturally to him! He was introduced to Tynker at school about a year ago and has been creating fantastic projects ever since – they’re so fantastic, in fact, that we reached out to chat with him to learn more!

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

How did you get introduced to Tynker? Our school had just downloaded Tynker, so I decided to give it a try.

How did you learn how to use Tynker? We used to use this website called Scratch – Tynker and Scratch are very similar, so that’s how. I’ve been coding for one year.

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I don’t know, it just comes! Sometimes I ask my dad or something.

Why do you like to code? It’s really fun and I feel proud of myself when I’ve finished it.

What kinds of projects do you usually make? I like to make games!

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? My favorite one is the one that got featured, Fruit Ninja.

What are you planning to make next? I just finished one called Space Wars. I just published it! I asked my dad what I should make, and he said he used to play games when he was little, and Space Wars was one of them.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I check it to make sure there are no bugs, then I publish it!

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? You get to make your own games and play them.

Do your friends Tynker? Yes, I have lots of friends that like to code!

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? Yeah – they actually help me gain inspiration!

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yeah, it’s really fun!

What advice would you give for kids starting out with Tynker? I’d say that if you’re stuck, then check out the community projects – check out the code and they might help you.

When asked how coding could benefit Nickaan in the future, his mom Pantea responded, “Learning to code IS the future, isn’t it?” We couldn’t agree more!

Pantea believes coding that helps kids to be creative. She reflected on the fantastic opportunity that is offered to kids today, saying, “I wish that when I was a child I had that opportunity! I think it’s a great opportunity that you guys are providing for the kids, learning how to code.”

She told us that Tynker “gives them the power to make the game, rather than to just play the game. When you’re making, you are engaged and you are empowered. You’re like, ‘This is my production, my ability.’ Kids can do it, they can achieve this, make games, be creative.”

We were excited to hear that Nickaan’s friends were motivated by his success in Tynker! Pantea mentioned, “In fact, some of his friends have been on it and trying to create games so that they might be featured!”

Thanks for your time, Nickaan and Pantea! We’re anxiously awaiting your next creation, Nickaan, and can’t wait to see how your friends continue to create, too. We predict some awesome collaborations in the future!