Michael Franco - How to Build Your Own App If You Don't Know How to Code - Lifehacker.com, Jan 31, 2018

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Jason Kottke - Verena, an iOS app to help protect people in abusive situations - kottke.org, Jan 30, 2018

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Selena Mills - 17 Beautiful Indigenous Comic Books And Video Games For Kids - cbc.ca - Jan 9, 2018

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10 Surprising Skills You Learn Through Coding

Coding definitely teaches you tech skills, but that’s only the beginning. Take a look at these 10 other benefits you’ll see when you learn how to code.

Coding is the future.

Pretty much everything that you touch involves coding these days—your remote controls, TVs, phones, watches—we are a technological society, and it’s only going to increase in the future.

Coding definitely teaches you tech skills, but that’s only the beginning. Take a look at these 10 other benefits you’ll see when you learn how to code.

1. Critical thinking
Teachers all want students to be critical thinkers. If you can develop this skill at a young age, it will serve you well for many years to come. Coding is one of the best ways to do this. You can’t just wing it when you’re working on a coding problem. You really have to take the time and energy to look at it and understand it at a different level. Just think about how helpful that will be in other areas of your schooling.

2. Persistence
Perseverance is a hard thing to teach, but it’s an important skill to learn. You want to keep going when you come across an obstacle, and coding helps you do this.

3. Problem-solving skills
Not only does coding encourage problem-solving, it helps get you thinking outside the box at the same time. When you come across a dead end in coding, there’s always a way you can backtrack and try again. This “try, try again” mentality will help set you up for future success.

4. Courage to try new things
Sometimes we get stuck in a rut where we don’t want to try new things. However, it’s good for all of us to learn something new. Plus, you never know what is going to appeal to you. For instance, some students that people never would’ve predicted would have an interest in coding, love it. And all you had to do was try it.

5. Math skills
Coding and math go hand in hand. When you are encouraged to code, you’re also practicing your math. Best of all, you might not even realize you’re doing math. So those students who claim “I hate math” are still learning some valuable skills that will serve you for years to come.

6. Meaningful context
There can be a fuzzy period when you’re learning to code—“What does this all mean?” But then when it all starts coming together, it’s a beautiful thing. You will find that context, and then find how to apply it to your other areas of study.

7. Processing skills
When you do coding, it really is like a whole new language, which definitely encourages processing skills. It might not be your typical French, Spanish or German class, but this is a universal language. No matter where you go in the world, if you speak code, you’ll be able to communicate, which is pretty cool.

8. Determination
Ask any Minecraft player how difficult it was to get from one Minecraft level to the next. After they tell you their story, remind yourself that Minecraft is essentially coding. You’re like, “Hey—I’ve been doing this all along!” Now try to channel the determination you had in the Minecraft game and apply it to the coding you’re working on in class.

9. Creativity
Let’s look at that Minecraft example again. In this game, you love the creativity—you can build a world all by yourself. This is powerful. You are able to be creative and innovative completely on your own terms. You might not have a lot of say in what you do and when you do it because you’re kids. But with coding, the control is completely in your hands.

10. Overcoming gender barriers
Men hold most of the jobs in the tech industry, especially when it comes to coding, and that needs to change this. I recently learned that less than 1 percent of coders are girls of color. This is not right. It’s such a worthy cause—coding shouldn’t be limited to boys only!

Modified from:  http://bit.ly/2COPvI6

Mark Melnychuk - Brothers literally bet the house on the hit video game Cuphead - Regina Leader-Post, Dec 22, 2017

Brothers literally bet the house on the hit video game Cuphead

• Regina Leader-Post
• 22 Dec 2017
• MARK MELNYCHUK

TONY FORTE/WENN

Maja, Chad and Jared Moldenhauer were in Los Angeles for Game Awards 2017 on Dec. 7.

Chad and Jared Moldenhauer each mortgaged their houses so they could build a video game.

It has paid off.

The Regina-born brothers’ independent video game Cuphead has received widespread praise for its visual style that pays homage to 1930s-era cartoons. Its characters were even brought to life the old-fashioned way, through handdrawn animation.

Cuphead was released on Microsoft’s Xbox console and personal computers on Sept. 29. In under two weeks, the game sold a million units. At this year’s Game Awards in Los Angeles, Cuphead won three categories, including best art direction.

The brothers are still in shock at the popularity of their debut game.

“We still don’t have a massive response to the success. It’s just … it’s overwhelming,” said Chad Moldenhauer, who now resides in Toronto.

Chad’s younger brother, Jared, still lives in Regina.

Despite appearing on awards show stages and at gaming conventions, Chad describes them as two “pretty grounded guys” from Regina. Jared, who values his privacy, declined to be interviewed.

The Moldenhauers grew up in the city’s north end. They attended elementary school at St. Timothy, and later enrolled at Archbishop M.C. O’Neill High School.

Their love for 1930s animation was passed down from their parents, and nurtured by Silly Symphony compilations they would buy from Acme Video on Osler Street.

Of course, there were lots of video games. Chad referred to Game Busters, a former video game retail store on Victoria Avenue, as their second home. Cuphead’s gameplay takes inspiration from games the Moldenhauers enjoyed as kids, such as Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man.

While video games were previously only made by large corporations, that’s no longer the case. Games can now be made by independent studios and distributed on the internet.

The Moldenhauers’ company, Studio MDHR, doesn’t even have an office.

All of its employees are spread out over Canada and the U.S., and worked on the game from their homes.

“Don’t ask me how we pulled it off,” said Chad.

Chad acted as art director for the game, while Jared looked after game design and managing the development team while working remotely from Regina.

Cuphead started out as a small passion project that the Moldenhauers worked on outside their day jobs. Jared was working for the family’s construction company in Regina, while Chad ran his marketing company in Ontario.

But Cuphead just kept getting bigger.

On Christmas Eve 2013, the brothers got a phone call from Microsoft. Two years later, the company featured them on stage at its press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. That’s when everything blew up.

Awareness of Cuphead reached a critical mass. The gamer’s trailer received millions of views. Jared and Chad decided to go all-in, mortgaging both of their homes so they could hire more staff to make the ambitious version of the game they had originally conceived.

The Moldenhauers weren’t scared of putting their houses on the line. With anticipation building for the release of Cuphead, they decided to take advantage of their good fortune.

“When we did that, it was such an easy decision,” said Chad.

The financial success of Cuphead has meant that the Moldenhauers can now quit their day jobs and focus on making games. Chad said the team has already started brainstorming ideas for their next game.

“We can now just continue doing what we love and we don’t have to worry about who’s paying the bills next month,” said Chad.

Neither brother has any formal training in game development. Chad and Jared are entirely selftaught when it comes to game design and animation. It’s Chad’s hope that Cuphead’s success will show aspiring game developers they can make video games no matter where they live.

Despite the success Cuphead has enjoyed, it was never the plan to design a surefire blockbuster. It may be a hit now, but like Jared and Chad, Cuphead comes from humble beginnings.

“We just made a game that we loved, and then that’s it,” said Chad.

Jefferson Graham - Teen wins Snapchat/Google coding contest with filter that dreams of uniting - USA TODAY, Dec. 20, 2017

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Alex MacPherson - Tech lobby thrilled about computer coding in schools - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, November 1, 2017

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David Shield - 'It's exciting for us': Sask. game developer Noodlecake Studios celebrating $6.3M sale - CBC News, August 3, 2017

Mobile gaming company plans to stay in city, will use money to expand company

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