Coding and Farming Intertwined

Why did I choose a farming coding game?

I do not have much knowledge when it comes to coding. In high school, I took a computer science class where we were beginning to learn python, but two months into the semester, COVID-19 hit. We had the option to discontinue the class, but we keep the mark that we already have. At that point, I already have really good mark, so I chose not to continue the class. In my second year at the University of Regina, I took CS 100, an introductory class to coding. In that class, we learned how to code in HTML. By the end of the class, we were able to create our own individual website using HTML. Besides those two things, I do not have any more knowledge on coding.

For this blog post, we were tasked to use either Scratch or Hour of Code to try one of their coding games. I chose to do a game within the Hour of Code website.

I am a variety gamer. I play from horror games to RPG games to farming games. In the past year or two, I have been really into cozy games, so I have been playing a lot of Coral Island and Stardew Valley, two games that I highly recommend trying. Stardew Valley is made by one person using coding. I mentioned my being a cozy gamer because in the Hour of Code website, I found a coding game that relates to farming and gardening, so I knew that was the choice for me. I used “Plant a Garden” by CoderZ.

 

Activities

Each activity is divided into sections separated by videos that give background information of the code that will be used, as well as how that coding technology is used on farms by farmers and agriculture in general. Below are the activities that I have done.

• The very first video that was shown was a simple informational video on the use of technology and coding in agriculture. They did not really go in depth with this first video since there will be a few more videos later that discussed those topics further.

• Next was just a brief video about what is to come and what kinds of missions that the user will encounter in this coding game.

• The first mission was really simple. It was just to click the execute or “run” button to see how the code that was already on the main screen translates into the game.

• The next one was a debugging mission. It is basically the same as the previous activity, but the code that was in the main screen needed some changing to reach the end point. We were given a task to collect the floating neon fruits (I forgot what kind they are). I added more movement codes and executed it to see whether the robot reaches its goal. On my first run, I had put in the wrong direction since I was a little bit confused due to the angle the screen was in, but I ultimately figured it out. I also realized that we could change the angle in which the screen is on, but I already got used to the bird’s eye view perspective, so I chose not to change it.

• The next activity was all up to me. The same mechanics apply, but there are no pieces of code already present on the main screen. This mission, I needed to collect all the floating neon grapes. Implementing the code was not difficult. What took up most of my time was determining the distance I needed the robot to take to reach the goal.

• The next activity was all about sensors. In the code itself, I was introduced to “if” statements. The code for it was already on the main screen, but it needed some changing for it to work. After working on it for a few minutes, I finally reached the target, along with collecting the required pumpkins to complete the game.

• The next activity is similar to the previous one, but a bit more difficult. Instead of just one flower bed, there are now four. In addition, the code that is already on the main screen was missing a few more pieces of code, so I had to figure out which code is needed to reach the goal. At this point, this has been the longest part of the game for me. It really took me a while to figure out how many “if” statements the robot required to reach the target.

• The last activity I did was called Farming and Planning. In this mission, we are to design our own garden. Using the available code, we are to plant flowers and use different colors. The user gets to choose the layout of the garden and the color of the flower themselves. I struggled for a little bit figuring this one out, so my garden ended up looking bare.

 

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed trying our Hour of Code. I am a tech-y kind of person, so I love all things related to tech. Even though the game that I chose was made for grades 2 to 8 students, I still had a bit of difficulty in some parts throughout the lesson. This just goes to show that coding is a difficult thing to do. Even when I was in my computer science classes. One incorrect line can ruin the rest of the code, so it is vital to be meticulous when it comes to coding. I think that both Scratch and Hour of Code are both amazing free online resources for people who would want to start their journey in the coding world.  

I think code and coding, or computer science in general, are important. Without coding, we would not have our phones and the applications that come with it. Without coding, we would also not have the opportunity to do blogging. Almost every piece of technology runs in code, so without it, we would not have the technology that we have today.