A VIDEO GAME WORLD Go-carts Go-carts race across the TV’s screen They swerve around obstacles and launch off jumps Players hold controllers shaped like steering wheels They press a button on the side to make the go-carts move faster Suddenly a tree falls across the track Players press another button to slam on the brakes Video games respond to players and track their scores 5 CHAPTER 1
Sometimes coins appear on the track Players can steer their go-carts into the coins to collect them Some coins boost players speed Others give them weapons that slow down their opponents Exciting music plays in the background as they race toward the finish line BEHIND THE SCENES There are many kinds of video games Some video games are played on consoles Some games run on smartphones or computers Other games are played on small handheld devices All these games run using code Code tells each device how to display the game’s sounds and images It also allows the game to respond to a player’s actions 6
A game’s code includes instructions that control what players can see and do None of this would be possible without video game coders These people write code or instructions for a computer to create the game They choose what controls players will use They plan the game’s levels and ending In fact code makes every part of a video game work 7
