Who is RokCoder?
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RokCoder is one of, if not the, most famous coder on Scratch. If you haven’t seen his work, you need to! He’s created complicated games on Scratch that most of us could only dream of doing. RokCoder has created Uno, a piano player, Battleship, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders, just to name a few!
We were lucky enough to interview RokCoder and it was awesome! You can check out the full interview video below.
RokCoder Intro
RokCoder (aka Cliff Davies) is a Scratch Game Developer . He’s not your ordinary content creator on Scratch. He creates some of the most advanced projects on Scratch that you’ll see on the platform. When he’s not making Scratch games, he works for Unity (which explains why he can make such complicated projects on Scratch). RokCoder has worked for Unity for about 5 or 6 years.
How RokCoder Got Started in Coding
RokCoder got started in coding when he was about 8 or 9 years old. His dad brought home an Apple II computer, and he got the bug after that! He worked on the BBC Micro, and work using it in schools in England.
RokCoder got a degree in Computer and Electronics. He programmed for 3 years and from there did some freelance work. He got his first gaming job when Doom came out. That was his first experience in gaming, and he loves the maths and programming involved in working with games.
RokCoder and Scratch
RokCoder joined Scratch 11 years ago, but forgot about it for about 4 or 5 years. His son got interested in coding and in Scratch, so that’s when RokCoder really got involved with Scratch. He chose his caveman avatar on Scratch because he had a company called Rock Soft, and he adapted it for RokCoder.
How do You Get Ideas for a Project?
RokCoder decided to make multi-player games (Battleship and Uno) on Scratch because during the lockdown (from COVID-19), he wanted to create games kids could play together, even though they were at home. He made multiplayer games so that they can interact with one another. Someone actually suggested Uno for RokCoder to make after he made Battleship. He had actually never played before! He read about Uno and how you play and decided it would be a fun game to make on Scratch.
How Long Does it Take to Make a Game?
It took RokCoder about 2 or 3 weeks to make Uno. He was worked on it in bits and pieces when he had time, so it wasn’t a lump of time all at once.
What to Do if You’re Getting Bored With Scratch?
Look at all of the cool projects on Scratch, especially the ones that are getting more complicated. If you can get excited about Scratch and the possibilities, it will help keep you to want to do more. RokCoder also recommends pushing your skills on each project, to go a little farther and try something a little more complicated.
When you make something your proud of and want to share, you can also get feedback from others to make things even better! Then you can improve and get more positive feedback and it turns into a cycle that keeps you excited. RokCoder says it’s all about enjoyment and enthusiasm.
Remix Button on Scratch
The Remix Button on Scratch really invites users to look at other’s code and make it their own. It’s a great way for people to learn how to do more. They can find a game or project they like, look at the code, use it and figure out how it works.
The key to using the remix button is to know what level you’re at, so that you’re not just copying, but that you’re actually understanding and learning.
You can also use the remix button to get help. If you don’t know why your project isn’t working, someone else can look at it, find the issue and give you feedback so that you can fix it!
Video Game Talk
Favorite Games RokCoder has Worked On
RokCoder worked on a game that was originally called Zoop and was in charge of making the protoype of it for the Sega Saturn. It was a Match-3 game (before all of the phone app match 3 games came out). On the Sega Saturn the game was called Ferox, but unfortunately it came out just as the Sega Saturn was declining, so it never got any traction.
Virtual Reality
During the lockdown, RokCoder decided to get a VR headset. He got the Quest and really enjoys the games that actually get you moving.
Coding in Schools
RokCoder teaches Scratch, Python and HTML at schools. He thinks that there should be more coding education in schools, although there has been improvement. RokCoder pointed out that kids really need programmers to teach coding, because teachers can’t be expected to learn and keep up with technology and coding, as well as teaching other subjects.
While it’s worthwhile to present coding to everyone, it doesn’t need to be forced on all students.
Benefits of Coding
There are benefits of coding that extend beyond a child actually becoming a programmer. Kids learn logic and they get to create something totally unique! Kids can be proud of what they have created!
Coding Beyond Scratch
Some of the games RokCoder makes are actually harder to make on Scratch than with another language or platform. For instance, he had to work harder on Scratch to make multi-player games because Scratch isn’t designed for that. But RokCoder enjoys the challenge! For kids, instead of working around the limits of Scratch, they may want to move on to coding beyond Scratch.
Unity and Scratch
RokCoder is working on a program that helps kids move from Scratch to Unity. He’s working on a program to translate your Scratch project to Unity (C# programming language). Kids will be able to see how the code from the Scratch project translates into C#. This can help kids start the process of learning C# on their own.
Unity is a great exit strategy from Scratch because both Scratch and Unity are graphic and sprite based. They are different interfaces, so it still takes time, but there are some similarities that can be helpful for kids to make the transition from Scratch.
Roblox Studio Coding
RokCoder has also worked on a project that converts a Roblox Studio project to Unity. If you go from Scratch to Roblox, then this program can help you move on to Unity and C# as well.
Minecraft
RokCoder has not played Minecraft. He said he knows how fun and addictive Minecraft is, and he is afraid he’d spend too much time playing Minecraft!
Conclusion
RokCoder is one of the best Scratch Coders out there, not to mention all of the other cool stuff he’s done and is currently working on! We were so excited to get the chance to talk with him and learn even more about him! He is involved in the Scratch Community and is even one of the mentors in the “Teaching with Scratch Group” on the Scratch website. You can find him on YouTube, Scratch and Facebook:
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