Steve Gets Sophisticated with Code!

Steve Gets Sophisticated with Code!

Featured Maker Steve is from Arizona! His favorite subject is mathematics, especially fractions. He’s already started using real computer code, like HTML, to make a website about a book he made! He also enjoys getting creative with Tynker. For example, for some of his Tynker projects, Steve composes music electronically and then uploads the file into Tynker. He also wants to learn Swift so he can make a 3D version of his favorite project! Steve wants to be a computer programmer when he grows up–learning how to use real-world programming languages, along with understanding how to make sophisticated projects in Tynker, will help him achieve that goal!

How did you get introduced to Tynker and how long have you been coding? I got introduced to Tynker just by randomly searching on the application store to see what was on there. And I downloaded Tynker one day and decided to look through it and started doing some coding. That was about three years ago.

How did you learn how to use Tynker when you were first starting out? I started out with Candy Quest.

What is your favorite Tynker project you’ve made so far?  Sarah’s Quest Beta 2.1. I made two versions of it.

Sarah’s Quest BETA 2.1

Where did you get the idea for your favorite project? I actually don’t know, all of a sudden I started thinking about an adventure quest, and I started thinking of the name Sarah, so I put those things together. I was really into making pixel games, and I really enjoyed working on it because I really like the concept of pixel art.

How long did it take you to make? At least a month.

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I get inspiration from other people. I’ve actually remade other things that they made. I also like editing some things, just to see if I can fix bugs or anything.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? If it’s something that I really like, if it’s original, I post it, but if it’s not original I just keep it to myself, so I can have my own version of it.

What are you planning to make next? I am making a small Roblox game. I’m trying to make it as realistic to Roblox as I can! I really want to learn Swift so I can make Sarah’s Quest 3D.

What’s your favorite thing about Tynker? I think everything’s great in Tynker! I just want to leave a statement that, when I’ve seen Tynker grow so much, I like a lot of the updates they’ve made, like the Augmented Reality course, and the video-on, video-off blocks, and the transparency blocks. Because I’ve seen new projects like photo booths and things like that.

How do you think learning how to code has prepared you for the future? It’s helped me understand how it works, and it also helps me understand how block coding is placed and how JavaScript is used.

Do you think other kids should try coding? It helps them with their creativity. If they want to create something, they can try it out for themselves and they can learn how to fix problems, if there are any problems in the code. I suggested it to one of my friends and he started working on his own project and he published it and he got a lot of views on it. And I encourage him to continue working on that project. It’s called “Relics of the Sympan.”

What advice would you give to kids who are starting out with Tynker? To start with the courses because starting with not knowing how to do anything is a little difficult to start out with.

What’s a fun fact about you? That I really like helping others with their own projects if they need help. Some people have asked me to help them with their own projects. I’ll suggest different code blocks to use, and if there’s a major problem in there I’ll fix it for them.

Steve’s dad, Douglas, told us why he’s excited to see Steve learning to code: “I’m glad he’s learning it because I think in the future it’s something you can do, whatever field you’re in, if you want to test out an idea you can create code to test out your idea. We’re such a digital society now. It’s such an asset for employment, to be able to say ‘This is what I know.’”

Some of the benefits of learning to code include: “How to de-bug a program, persistence, knowing how to structure your thoughts to get the final product that’s desired.” Douglas also shared with us why he likes Tynker: “When [Tynker] started adding JavaScript and Python, I was glad to see those new levels for kids to go onto. They get exposure to other programming languages. Once [Steve] gets one or two languages down well it’ll be really easy for him to adapt to other languages. Then he can decide on his language of choice…If he’s interested in being a programmer, then he’s off to a good start.”

Thanks, Steve and Douglas, for interviewing with us! Can’t wait to see that Roblox project or Sarah’s Quest in 3D come to life, Steve! Happy coding!