Information
The core use for programming languages is to give computer hardware a set of instructions on how to interact with users or the world around it. In different languages these can vary a little but tend to include direct Basic Instructions such as “calculate”, “use”, or “display”. In Tākaro the Basic Instructions included are to simply move the rolling robot to direct it along the holographic blocks from the yellow terminal to the pink robot exit by using Forward, (rotate) Left, and (rotate) Right. These Basic Instructions are the same as the most Basic Instructions you can give a computer with programming – telling it to do a simple task, in the case of the robot in Tākaro, move forward one space, or change the direction it is looking by 90°.
The Tākaro game is an unconventional styled game and breaks away from the usual character based games while providing exciting strategic puzzle challenges. Set within a 3d world, the player will explore and discover their way through suspended 3d platforms and mazes. Tākaro will greatly challenges one's spatial skill, especially the ability to visualise in a three-dimensional space using coding concepts to navigate.
(FOR) Loops
Loops, in Tākaro, are based on FOR Loops in computer programming, and basically repeat whatever code is inside of them “for” the number of times the programmer specifies. An example of this would be (in very simple terms) “Execute this code for 10 times”. In Tākaro, the Basic Instructions previously used are carried out, in order, multiple times, telling the robot to do simple tasks over and over for the number of times specified, e.g. one move forward 5 times moves the robot forward 5 times.
Nested Loops
Nested Loops are Loops within Loops. When working with Nested Loops in Tākaro, the code still executes from top to bottom, however, execute each Inner Loop before continuing to the Outer Loops that Loop is contained within. For example, a Loop containing a Left, then a Loop 5 times Forward, then a Right will rotate Left, move Forward 5 times, then rotate right the number of times the Outside Loop dictates. In Computer Programming, the Inner Loops are always executed before the Outer Loops regardless of content.
While Loops
While Loops work in a very similar way to FOR Loops, however, instead of having a fixed number stipulated to it to determine how often it must repeat, it does so for however long a specific definition persists, in programming, this is called “true”, and when it stops, it is called “false”. As an example of this we could use a tree - “While Summer (the specific definition for the while loop here being “that it is Summer”) = true, maintain green leaves”, meaning, while it is still summer, the tree will maintain green leaves, and when stops being Summer, and Summer becomes “false”, then the tree will stop maintaining green leaves. In Tākaro we use colours for the specific definitions “While the robot is on (a specific colour) carry out (the Basic Instructions or Loops inside of it)”.
Ifs
Ifs work in a similar way to Whiles, however, they check to see if a definition is “true” or “false”, and then executes the code inside the If once, opposed to a While, which executes continuously while the definition is true. In Tākaro, the Ifs are used as a command to briefly interrupt the While commands, e.g. “While the robot is on (a specific colour) carry out (the Basic Instructions or Loops inside the While) If the robot rolls onto (a different specific colour) then carry out (the Basic Instructions inside the If)”.