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The Code It! Challenge

Design & Code a Video Game

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A citywide celebration honoring the 60 students who changed their idea again and again, tested and retested the mechanics, tweaked their character and layout designs, tried things that never worked, lost everything they had, agonized, screamed out, gave up, and cried only to start over, seek help, try another way, stick with it, and persist until the design was appealing, the mechanics worked, and the game was won!

On Saturday, December 12, 2020, 90 students joined on citywide virtual showcase to applaud Evanston’s video game creators and see the amazing arcade-style video games that they designed and coded as the culmination of Evanston’s 8-bit Challenge

Over 60 students in grades 4-8 put in hours and hours of work since early October designing layouts, animating custom characters, and coding game rules.  

Hear from some of these students below and visit the online arcade page to play their games and find your favorites.  Get ready to have your mind blown by these ingenious students and all of the amazing and challenging arcade video games they created.

Five student interviews highlighting their 8-bit experiences

Lilian Z. – Larry’s Lunch

Micah S. – Hungry Ninja

Rania S. – End of the Demons

Margaret D. – Masks vs. The Corona Virus

Natalie H. – Protect the Treasure

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