An interest in programming led him down the path to coding his own video games in class. Like many teens, Rayvin likes playing video games, but he has gone further in exploring making his own.

“Making original characters is what I like most. It’s an important part of the story if you meet a wolf or you are playing as a titan or something,” he explained. “My imagination is the best game, where I can make anything happen.”

Rayvin has learned programming in James Pratt’s technology classes, but was recently introduced to the program MakeCode Arcade by his teacher, Laura LeBaron.

“I knew he had this interest, so when it was shared at a recent in-service day, I knew it would be perfect for Rayvin,” LeBaron said.

Rayvin Palmer not only likes playing video games, but he has gone further in exploring making his own. Submitted photo

MakeCode Arcade is a web-based code editor and game engine designed to make creating retro 2D games accessible for students. It allows users to create games using either a block-based editor or by typing code in JavaScript/TypeScript.

Rayvin had his challenges with the software, but he found the setbacks an amusing part of the journey.

“There were things that could go wrong, but they were funny things. It’s easy as long as you don’t make the same mistakes that I did. Like one time I spawned so many things that were not supposed to spawn that much,” he explained.

Rayvin said he considers this a hobby that he does just for fun. “Once you’re told to do something, you don’t find enjoyment anymore,” he said.

When asked if he would like to pursue video game design after high school, he kept his options open.

“That’s for time to tell,” he said. Fortunately, he still has a couple of years before he has to make decisions about the future.

Below is an article by Rayvin about MakeCode Arcade.

A Helper for an Upcoming Video Game Developer

By Rayvin Palmer

MakeCode Arcade, made by Microsoft, is a VERY interesting video game maker. The most practical device needed to run the program for MakeCode Arcade is likely a Chromebook or a laptop. It definitely is a virtual teacher that helps you step by step. That’s how I made my first game based off of its instructions, “Save-Dinos.” It is, basically, just a side-scroller, meaning left to right, game. You play as Mama Dino, a T-Rex (or also known as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, king of the dinosaurs), walking on the freeway to catch and save her hatchlings. You have to avoid the incoming tourists or you lose one of three lives.

The coding for the game is fragile. If you put one piece of code in the wrong place, for example, you can accidentally make a lot of tourists come your way! But, if you do it correctly, it’s only going to be one baby dino or one tourist on the road, or both at once. It’s easy to understand and also easy to get done, so long as you don’t make the same starting mistakes as me, that is! A person interested in coding or making video games (like me) would enjoy this kind of virtual assistant because it helps teach the basics of coding, or as I’ve heard in other terms, “code webs.”