I know next to nothing about coding. I can resize a YouTube video embed, and that’s about the extent of my expertise. I’m not proud of my ignorance, either – it’s just not one of the skills I’ve picked up down the track. However, Mojang and code.org might be my saviour. They’ve just collaborated to produce a web-based tutorial that eases you into the basics of coding.
Like tinkering with your Minecraft, do you? Check out our best Minecraft skins.
‘Minecraft Hour of Code’ is available to play in your browser, and aims to get you au fait with the basics of coding in a stripped-down version of Minecraft. Controlling Steve or Alex, you give them simple commands (move forwards, chop tree) in order to complete simple tasks (like moving forwards or chopping down a tree), then look at the actual code language you created afterwards.
It’s designed to last, as the title does to some extent give away, one hour. In that time, Mojang and code.org hope, you’ll have gained a basic understanding of how lines of code fit together to create simple systems.
The manageable time commitment is obviously aimed at a schooling scenario – in fact the whole thing’s probably intended for a junior audience if I’m being truly honest with myself. Look, just let me chop down the trees and pretend I’m Neo, okay?
139,239,949 have already tried it, presumably at least some of them code-illiterate adults like myself. You should give it a whirl. It’s fun. If you’re super into Minecraft, there are also videos of the devs explaining their coding backgrounds.