Life

Let Wonder Woman Teach You How To Code

by Lily Feinn

Princess Diana can fly at superhuman speed and foil bad guys with her golden lasso of truth, but her big screen superpowers wouldn't be so super if it wasn't for the coding that brings these visual effects to life. Now Wonder Woman is partnering with Made With Code and Google Play to inspire the next generation of young women to learn the magic of coding. On June 1, a day before the Wonder Woman movie cemented itself as a critical success and box office mega hit, Google released a Wonder Woman-themed interactive coding tutorial to help teen girls "add coding to their superpower toolkit."

Through three exciting levels, each reflecting a scene from the film, the project introduces a combination of important coding concepts, such as loops, variables, sequencing, and conditionals. Fans must use code blocks to navigate obstacles and help Wonder Woman reach her goal. The levels are interspersed with brief scenes from the movie and get progressively more difficult as you advance. While those new to coding may find some of the project challenging, hints and help are offered along the way so that users always feel empowered to help Wonder Woman jump, fight, and gallop her way to victory.

Wonder Woman and women in the tech industry have more in common today than first meets the eye. Both are the minority in male-dominated professions, striving to break through stereotypes pervasive in both gaming and comic book culture. "Wonder Woman’s strength is more relevant today than ever, especially in the technology space, since girls are less likely than boys to be encouraged to pursue computer science and only 22 percent of gaming developers are women," notes a Google blog post. The Made With Code initiative aims to teach teens about the many diverse applications of coding, from fashion, to cinema, music, and art; filling a void by creating a coding community and mentorship program for young women.

In a newly released video, visual effects producer Amber Kirsch highlights just how important coding can be. "Code creates the impossible, there's so much that's done with code," Kirsch explains. "It's digital doubles, its arrows on fire. Code is a superpower." With the power of coding at their fingertips, girls need never forget that they have a superpower too. Since the program premiered, Google has held several launch events for teen girls, inspiring them to try their hand at coding as well as holding early screenings of the film. "We hope Wonder Woman’s message of empowerment inspires teen girls, and women, to build confidence in pursuing careers in computer science, engineering, gaming—or whatever their dreams may be," writes the Google Blog.

Test the program yourself here and let Wonder Woman be your guide into the world of coding!