PixelPAD is an online platform to create your own apps or games! FIRST Robotics Canada has partnered with Under the GUI created an in-depth curriculum with inspiration from current and past FIRST Robotics Competition games. Below you’ll find three challenges that will teach you the basics of coding.
Each challenge comes with a guide and a teachers manual.
New! Java Editions
Castle Crashers Java Edition
The Castle Crashers Java Edition tutorial was inspired by the 2016 FIRST Robotics competition, where robots need to collect FIRST Boulders and fling them into their opponents castles; if you time it right, you can even catch the boulders your opponent throws! Students will learn to code the basic mechanics of the PixelPAD Castle Crashers app, and are encouraged to add their own personality to their games. The functionality is very similar to the original Castle Crashers game, but instead of the Python-language, students will write in Java to build this game.
Level of difficulty: Easy. For students age 8+
Python Editions
Castle Crashers
The Castle Crashers Up tutorial was inspired by the 2016 FIRST Robotics competition, where robots need to collect FIRST Boulders and fling them into their opponents castles; if you time it right, you can even catch the boulders your opponent throws! Students will learn to code the basic mechanics of the PixelPAD Castle Crashers app, and are encouraged to add their own personality to their games.
Level of difficulty: Easy. For students age 8+
Power Up
The Power Up tutorial was inspired by the 2018 FIRST Robotics competition, where robots need to collect power cubes and place them onto the platforms. The more power cubes you place on your platforms the more points you get! The platforms automatically balance depending on how many cubes are each platform.
Level of difficulty: Medium. For students age 10+
Maker Labs
The Maker Labs tutorial was inspired by the MAKER movement, where students are encouraged to combine, connect, and create things from existing parts. In this app, our FIRST Robotics Robots need to collect items that are moving along a conveyor and place them onto the MAKER table. Some combinations will yield a new item for you to combine! Once the students complete coding the app, they have the opportunity to customize their combinations and create new items.
Level of difficulty: Hard. For students level 12+