Code Hero

Code Hero
Developer(s) Primer Labs
Designer(s) Alex Peake
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Release date(s) TBA
Genre(s) Education
Distribution Download

Code Hero is an educational video game in development by Primer Labs, designed by Alex Peake. The game aimed to teach players how to write programming languages by having them create code in a 3D world.

The game drew controversy following its Kickstarter campaign, when the studio ran out of funds, missed release deadlines and funding rewards, and communicated little with the community. Some financial backers threatened legal action following long periods of no communication. The Code Hero website was offline for an extended period in 2014, and Peake has not made public statement about the state of this project since 2013. As of April 2015 the website is active again.


Alex Peake
Last known public image of Peake

Gameplay

The main aim of Code Hero is to teach players how to write programming languages in an engaging way. Players use a gun which can copy code and place it in other areas of the level in order to create a full program in a language such as JavaScript and UnityScript whilst moving around a 3D world from a first-person perspective.[1][2] Players start in a world called Gamebridge Unityversity's API from which they can choose a series of levels which teach basics of the programming languages; after this they move to the Humantheon, from which the player moves on to the rest of the game world, led by a robotic Ada Lovelace.[3][4]

Development

Development on Code Hero began in January 2011, and in 2012 Peake started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $100,000 USD to fund further development of the game over the next six months. The Kickstarter concluded in February having raised $170,000 USD, at which point $30,000 USD had been raised through their website alongside this.[5][6] After failing to deliver the backing rewards by the original date, and not updating the website or Twitter accounts for months at a time, backers began to demand refunds and became concerned that the project was not sufficiently funded.[7] The original release date of August 31, at PAX Prime, was missed, with an update a few days later saying it would be released within days, a date which was also missed.[8] When supporter Dustin Deckard began organising to seek legal action after another stretch of no communication, Alex Peake released a statement saying that the game was still being worked on and that Primer Labs was “committed to finishing this game.”[9] The raised funds covered the costs of development until October, after which many of the game's developers became volunteers.[8][5] Two alpha builds of Code Hero were released during 2012 for those who had pre-ordered the game.[10]

In August 2013 a beta version of the game became available for download on Primer Labs website after being down for a period of weeks.[6] Since 2014, the primer labs website was offline, but it appeared online again in 2015. An announcement dated April 22 of that year indicated that version 0.5 was forthcoming. The company's Facebook and twitter accounts are inactive since 2012.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Gallegos, Anthony (1 March 2012). "Code Hero: Hiding a Text Book in a Video Game". IGN. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  2. ↑ Orland, Kyle (23 February 2012). "Code Hero raises over $100,000 for shooter that teaches computer programming". Ars Technica. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  3. ↑ Rose, Mike (22 February 2012). "Code Hero teaches programming through gaming". Gamasutra. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (21 February 2012). "Code Hero 'Teaches You How to Make Games'". IGN. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lien, Tracey (18 December 2012). "Code Hero: The Kickstarter success story that soured". Polygon. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Conditt, Jessica (15 August 2013). "Code Hero, one year later: Money, lawsuits and poker". Joystiq. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Chalk, Andy (13 December 2012). "Code Hero Kickstarter Goes Bad - UPDATED". Escapist Magazine. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Conditt, Jessica (13 December 2012). "Code Hero: The dangers of a Kickstarter success story". Joystiq. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (13 December 2012). "Code Hero Dev Responds to Kickstarter Complaints". IGN. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  10. ↑ Lien, Tracey (5 February 2013). "Code Hero developer promises rewards and refunds when the project has money". Polygon. Retrieved 21 December 2013.