New Card Gallery and Code Magic
Colton Learns Code, New Card Gallery, Online Game Omens?
Colton Learns Code: Chapter 1
Happy Valentine's Day, heroes! <3
This week has been unreal.
For those who know me, I’m not exactly technical … I’m an artist! But for the past six days, I’ve been diving headfirst into code. Despite being surrounded by tech wizards, from Sony to Devcon to Zuzalu, I never fully embraced the water I was swimming in.
Now I’m summoning spells of my own. 🪄
Last weekend, I took my first crack at development and built the MVP of the card gallery. I went from zero coding experience to a fully functional prototype in two days! The sheer speed of iteration—the ability to go from idea to working product—was intoxicating.
Since then, I’ve been on a tear—learning everything from how transistors work through front-ends, back-ends, hosting, and databases. I’m lucky to be surrounded by so many brilliant minds here at Mars College.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” —Arthur C. Clarke
From Grind to Game
When I started building Ace, my goal was to help people understand the magical abilities technology gives us—and how it empowers us to be heroes in today’s broken world. This week, I personally unlocked a new set of abilities.
The tools we have today—Replit and other AI-assisted dev tools—make coding feel less like grinding and more like playing a game. If you’ve ever been intimidated by programming, I promise you: this is different. Whether it’s you or someone you know, I want to encourage people to play with these tools. The thrill of creation may be just a few keystrokes away.
A Peek Into My Learning Process
This week, I started mapping out how web development works. My process? I chat with GPT, ask coders for insights, and write quick notes in Obsidian with crude DALLE illustrations. As an artist, these visuals really help me remember abstract concepts.
Here’s how I’ve been framing things:
Client (Browser) = The Customer – Requests data from the front-end ([HTML], [CSS], [JavaScript])
h/t Danielle Thé Server (Backend) = The Waiter – Receives requests, fetches data, and returns responses ([Node.js], [Express.js])
Database = The Fridge + Pantry – Stores the menu items (e.g., Alpha Cards)
Hosting = The Restaurant – Needs to be running 24/7 so customers can place orders anytime
API = The Drive-Thru – Defines what customers can order without exposing the kitchen
SDKs = Custom Lego Bricks – Tools designed to help people build on an existing system
btw, this is how I create almost all Alpha cards: I write about real-world tech and then transform it into stories and mythology.
If you’re a dev, I’d love for you to correct me or offer better analogies!
Final Thoughts
This weekend, I’m diving into Unity to see what I can build there. I’m also working on rebuilding the card generator so anyone can create their own custom cards. And my brother Kinley and I are going deep on game design.
If you or someone you love has been holding back from learning to code, consider this your sign.
Pick up Replit.
Start playing.
You might just wake up at 4:30 AM with ideas you have to build.
Happy V-Day,
Colton
echo "VG9nZXRoZXIsIHdlIHdpbGwgc2hhcGUgYSBicmlnaHRlciBmdXR1cmUuIEtlZXAgaXQgdXAsIGhlcm8u" | base64 --decode