Recently, I´ve got a great idea! It would be nice if I could create in my four-year-old daughter some positive approach towards STEM. So, let´s code our own game!
I got some recommendations for the Retro Arcade console made by Elecfreaks, so I gave it a shot. The device is just one of many which are based on the Microsoft Makecode platform which provides simple tools with aim of teaching kids how to code games.
The product itself consists console device, data/charging cable, a simple manual, and some weird add-on where you can attach tentacles to the console for some reason.
Set-up is easy. Connect the console with a computer with the attached cable and it will work for you automatically (tested on Win 10). Then open MakeCode website and sync your device with a browser. For synchronization use only Chrome! Firefox has issues with recognizing the connected device and MakeCode won´t sync.
And then it is just up to you. MakeCode website offers a variety of tutorials so hop-on is fairly simple. Quite nice tutorials are also on the website of Elecfreaks.
In the next article, we´ll look into the coding of our first simple game.