Alton programmed his first video game in the Scratch language. Created as an educational tool to introduce kids to computer programming, Scratch is kind of a contemporary version of the LOGO language. Puzzle-like blocks representing object-oriented concepts are strung together, and the interpreter compiles this into code. Voila! You have a computer program! Alton has been asking to learn to program a computer, so this seems like a pretty safe introduction to coding.
In browsing the available sprites for the Scratch editor, we came across some buffaloes. Alton’s eyes lit up and decided that we just had to write a game involving racing buffaloes(?!?). With a little help from his Assistant Gaffer, Alton developed the game concept (“Let’s race buffaloes!”), directed the artwork (“Draw hills and grass, daddy!”), the overall game design (“Press a button and the buffalo runs!”), and helped string together blocks of Scratch “code”. The end result, Buffalo Racers is a work of art. Click on the buffaloes to check it out! (unfortunately will not display properly on iPhones and iPads).
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