7. Wrap-up: Platform Game

Congratulations on programming your first platform game.

You're no longer just someone who plays video games, but someone that can create them.

The computer science concepts you used to make this program, are some of the most important concepts in video game creation.

Events and if statements.

However these concepts aren't just important relative to video games, but to nearly everything you can do with computer science.

When you take computer science class in high school or college, you'll see these familiar concepts that you're using everyday again and again.

Any future classes will teach you more about creating with the events, variables and is statements that you're using in the CS First Club.

Computer scientists aren't the only one to create using these concepts.

For example artists use computer science skills like events and if statements to create art.

There is an entire genre of art called Interactive Art that includes pieces that actively move and involve the user.

Here's an example of an interactive art installation.

A dance floor that reacts to touch events.

When the user steps on this dance floor it creates a spiral pattern.

The artist is responsible for programming how the floor responds to touch events.

Here's the same dance floor, except now the floor is a different color and behaves differently.

The floor looks different because the artist changed it's code.

Here's another example of Interactive Art.

This is the wooden mirror.

It is made up of more than 800 wooden pieces that reflect light in different ways forming a mirror image of the user.

The wooden mirror works by using if statements to control the wood pieces.

If an area of the picture is dark, then tilt the wood piece in that area down.

If an area of the piece is light, then tilt that wood piece up.

These interactive art pieces would not be possible without computer science.

Knowing a little computer science, like you are learning in this club, can empower you to be more creative in whatever field interests you.

Next session, we'll explore randomness using a dodgeball game.

Until then have fun creating and coding.

See you next time.