Coding was always something I was fascinated by, but I had no real idea of how to do it.
I had dabbled a little with HTML and CSS, but nothing ever really code-intensive.
That was until I enrolled onto a course led by Code Nation.
They provided the resources and education to work with Python script, and by the second week, gave me the skills I needed to project manage a game dev team.
By the end of the first week of learning, I had made a very simple noughts and crosses board, which doesn't sound hugely technical but was super cool anyway:
space1 = "o"
space2 = " "
space3 = "x"
space4 = "o"
space5 = "x"
space6 = " "
space7 = "o"
space8 = "x"
space9 = "o"
print (" | | ")
print (f"{space1} | {space2} | {space3} ")
print (" | | ")
print("-----------")
print (" | | ")
print (f"{space4} | {space5} | {space6} ")
print (" | | ")
print("-----------")
print (" | | ")
print (f"{space7} | {space8} | {space9} ")
print (" | | ")
if space1 == "x" and space2 == "x" and space3 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space1 == "o" and space2 == "o" and space3 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space1 == "x" and space4 == "x" and space7 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space1 == "o" and space4 == "o" and space7 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space1 == "x" and space5 == "x" and space9 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space1 == "o" and space5 == "o" and space9 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space7 == "x" and space5 == "x" and space3 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space7 == "o" and space5 == "o" and space3 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space4 == "o" and space5 == "o" and space6 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space4 == "x" and space5 == "x" and space6 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space8 == "o" and space5 == "o" and space2 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space8 == "x" and space5 == "x" and space2 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space9 == "o" and space6 == "o" and space3 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space9 == "x" and space6 == "x" and space3 == "x":
print ("Winner")
elif space7 == "o" and space8 == "o" and space9 == "o":
print ("Winner")
elif space7 == "x" and space8 == "x" and space9 == "x":
print ("Winner")
else:
print ("No winner")
Not only that, but I had managed to build other pieces of code to do various other functions that I was quickly becoming proud of:
def add_up(num1, num2):
return num1 + num2
print(add_up(7, 3))
print(add_up(123, 480))
balance = 1000
pin = 1234
def atm_function(pin_entered, amount):
global balance
if pin_entered == pin:
print("Access granted")
if amount <= balance:
print(f"You may withdraw that amount {amount}")
balance -= amount
print("Your new balance is {}.
Thank you for using this bank".format(balance))
elif amount > balance:
print("You don't have enough")
else:
print("That was incorrect")
atm_function(1234, 333)
And it wasn't only super complex pieces of code that made me smile:
x = 1
while x <= 13:
print("Hello World")
x += 1
A funny little piece of code that does nothing but print "Hello World" 13 times, but it made me smile.
Coding had always seemed so inaccessible to me until I really threw myself into the process.
By the end of the second week, I project managed a team of developers through the planning, design, execution, and testing of a text-based adventure game.
I was blown away by the fact that a team could put together something as complex, infuriating, interesting, and just plain old fun in such a short time.
Our game was called Destiny, and it is something I am super proud of. You can play through here:
By the end of week three, I was tasked with creating and building a fully functioning website...
And that is where you are right now. A website built completely from scratch using nothing but HTML and CSS coding.
Well, that was a wild ride!
As with most stories in my life, that wasn't quite the end.
A few months after completing the Develop course, I was trying to get work as a freelance website developer and wasn't having much luck.
One Friday, I got a phone call from Code Nation asking whether I was still looking for work.
Over the next few hours, I was interviewed and accepted onto the apprenticeship program with Code Nation.
Apparently, this very website was noticed by the company and my potential was recognized.
I started working for them the next Monday, kicking off my career as a junior software developer.
I began studying on the 12-week Master26 course, solidifying my HTML and CSS and boosting my JavaScript skills.
So here I am, again, coding some super cool things. Here are some of the projects I am super proud of:
Well I have spent the last 2 years teaching people how to code
I have also played around with a lot of different languages and have learned some quite complex things
Including how to use Unreal Engine, and programs like Blender
Where I was able to generate some rather impressive results
Who knows whats next really, like The Doctor, we will see where we end up
If you are interested in other projects I have been involved in or will be involved in, feel free to check out my
LinkedIn
and connect with me.
Or if you want to connect with me on
GitHub,
come say hi!