Code Hunt: Context-Driven Interactive Gaming for Learning Programming and Software Engineering

Code Hunt is a web-based serious gaming platform for players to solve coding duels, a type of puzzle based on programming and software engineering. In Code Hunt, a player iteratively modifies code to match the functional behavior of a secret code segment. The functional behavior is defined based on unit test cases shown as input-output pairs. To guide players to modify the code segment, Code Hunt provides feedback based on test generation through the Pex engine. In Code Hunt, the way of writing code is very different from the way in traditional software development since there are no known requirements (either informally/formally documented or existing in developers’ mind); the game aspect in Code Hunt is essentially re-engineering from sample expected behaviors observed from generated test cases. Various types of context exist in Code Hunt including the duel and the test cases, as well as the player’s history and any hints that are given. In this position paper, we discuss how such context assists the players to solve coding duels while offering the players learning and fun experiences.