The Campaign

GLICODE is the first ever educational app that uses advanced image recognition to turn real candy into code to teach kids the fundamentals of programming. Every packet of Pocky, Bisco and Almond Peak turns into bite-sized programming lessons where kids can lay out and arrange their snacks, capture the sequence and watch it turn into code that moves a character through increasingly complex challenges. The app covers three basic programming principles: ""BASIC SYNTAX"", ""LOOPS"" and ""IF STATEMENTS"". We designed this easy to understand visual language so that kids can automate repetitive instructions and assign actions to specific triggers, making GLICODE a real programming language with endless possibilities.

Creative Execution

The GLICODE app was developed for both Android and iOS in Unity with the game taking place in a colourful isometric tiled universe. Because children learn best through playing, this video game style was chosen to allow it to compete against the other recreational titles also demanding their attention. The user interface was designed to be simple and approachable, building on the new visual language we designed around Pocky, Almond Peak and Bisco. We worked with programmers and game designers to produce over 41 levels in the Japanese version, and 28 in the English edition, that when played in sequence start easy and become increasingly more complex teaching the 3 fundamentals of algorithmic thinking - BASIC SYNTAX, IF STATEMENTS and LOOPS. Both versions of GLICODE have been through 13 separate iterations. We launched GLICODE across Japan distributing starter packs and lesson plans to teachers in schools and programming cram schools.