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5 Things I Found on the Internet This Week

1.  Do you want to code a snowflake?

Disney Interactive and Code.org has teamed up to inspire future computer programmers — especially girls — to learn some basic coding skills in a fun, visual way. Head on over to the Frozen Hour of Code to help Anna and Elsa create shapes and patterns on ice using simplified blocks of code that snap together.

No prior coding experience is necessary, because you start off by drawing simple lines, with short video tutorials between each subject. (Pop quiz: which “dinosaur” makes an appearance to explain functions? 😉 ) But you’ll soon be creating shapes like this:

frozen_hour_of_code

To appeal to the social-media loving crowd, the game even lets you share your creations with your friends. Each generated URL leads the visitor to a unique page where people can see your code in action. (See an example here.)

frozen_hour_of_code_social_media

Give it a try! I’m sure any Frozen-loving child — heck, adults too! — interested in computers would love the tutorial.

Via Mashable.

2.  The competitive rankings of Super Smash Bros characters over time

Head on over to The Unbalanced Design of Super Smash Brothers, written by Forrest Smith, to read and pore over various data, charts, and research dissecting the game and its characters, how the game has changed over time, and how the players’ perception of balance has shifted through the years.

In other words, some very nerdy stuff.  :mrgreen: 

smash_bros_rankings_chart

Via Reddit.

Classic Horror Movies Get the “Goosebumps” Treatment

If It Were Stine is a Tumblr blog dedicated to reimagining classic horror movies, television shows, and video games as R.L. Stine’s popular children’s book series, Goosebumps.

Despite having been a junkie for the teen horror genre in my formative years, I wasn’t a big fan of R.L. Stine or the Goosebumps books. I thought they were predictable, contrived, and quite honestly, not that scary. (I was a bigger fan of the less-popular Christopher Pike.) However, I can’t help but admit that designer Theodore Holmstead-Scott and writer Jude Deluca have done a fantastic job of translating these on-screen horror classics to Goosebump-worthy book covers.

Here are my favorites. Be sure to read the back-cover synopses for the full experience!

The Shining:
horror_films_as_goosebumps_the_shining

Poltergeist:
horror_films_as_goosebumps_poltergeist

Marvelous Street Fighter + Minions Mashup

When Despicable Me‘s minions collide with the world of Street Fighter, you get these hilariously adorable illustrations by Esty user Minion Me.

They are set to appear at the Game Over art show, opening June 18th 2014, at Giant Robot. I can’t decide if I like Chun-Li, Guile, or Cammy the best…but then again, I’ve always had a soft spot for Street Fighter‘s original female character since last Halloween. 😉

street_fighter_minions_ryu

street_fighter_minions_blanca