Microsoft mentors inspire future coders with retro gaming
The ‘Softie in Question: Sue Loh
Job title: Sr. Software Development Engineer, Windows Phone Client
Remember Hunt the Wumpus?
If you played computer games in the 70s or 80s, you likely recall huddling with friends around your family’s computer and evading bats and bottomless pits in search of the sinister Wumpus.
For those who think that Sonic and Super Mario Brothers are the ancient history of gaming, Wumpus (originally released in ’72) may seem as useful as Sanskrit or wooden tennis rackets. But wait up… while it may not be as instantly gratifying as Portal 2 or Modern Warfare 3, a mentoring program at Microsoft has found that the relative simplicity of Hunt the Wumpus has immense teaching value.
Microspotting hunted down Sue Loh, who has worked on Wumpus outreach for 6 years, and got to the bottom of this program’s success.
Sue, tell us the goal of the Wumpus high school outreach project.
We pair Microsoft mentors with computer science classes at public high schools with an aim to increase the quality, quantity and diversity of high school students choosing computer science as a career.
Why use Wumpus and not a more contemporary game to teach students?
These days, kids look at a game – and while it may be fascinating – it is hard to understand what makes it work.
Like the difference between looking at the engine of a 1950’s Chevy versus lifting the hood of a new car?
You could say that. Back when games were simpler, you could see how they were actually put together.
And, we’re not just asking the students to recreate Wumpus as it already exists. We get them to build the game in a new and exciting way.
If you want to work at Microsoft, an important question to consider is: What constitutes quality code?