If you are a cryptocurrency enthusiast with computer science background, I’m sure you’ve wondered what all the fuss is about Ethereum and its smart contract language Solidity. There are so many different dApps these days that utilize the Ethereum blockchain, if you want to keep up with crypto tech you should at least familiarize yourself with Solidity.
What is CryptoZombies?
When I tried researching about Solidity and creating a smart contract, I’ve found so many tutorials that all seemed very basic in nature. Sure we can write a “hello world” contract, but where do we take it from here. Moreover, learning a new coding language can be daunting, especially if you’re short on time.
This brings me to the CryptoZombies Ethereum Solidity course, it’s 100% free and teaches you how to create a basic game using Ethereum’s smart contract language. There are a total of three main parts with multiple sections in each one.
The CryptoZombies Course
The first part is Solidity Path: Beginner to Intermediate Smart Contracts, it contains a total of 6 chapters with each one becoming more and more complex. It took me roughly 6 hours to get through all the sections, by the end of it I definitely had a grasp on Solidity and many concepts simply made sense.
The course starts off extremely basic and slowly transitions into more complex functions. You begin with a simple smart contract, then you build the Zombie and add some attributes to it, then you add some interactions with the Zombie such as having it eat other Zombies and even implementing the ability to eat other CryptoKitties. By the end of the first part you have a functional game that allows you to level up your zombie and battle other zombies.
The second part is Hands-on Path: Make and Deploy a Custom Game Mode. In this part you will build a custom game mode for Loom’s blockchain-based card game Relentless (previously called Zombie Battleground). After you complete that course you should have the tools to create your own version of Relentless which you will be able to deploy to the blockchain and have other players participate in.
The third part is Plasma Path: Learn how to use PlasmaCash. In this part you will learn about ERC721x Multi-Fungible Tokens and how they play into being used in a game that requires multiple amounts of the same item. For example, in a card game it would make sense to have multiple copies of the same card, the ERC721 standard which was used in the first part is non-fungible, meaning that only one type of such a token or item can exist.
There are still more parts that will be added to all three parts of the course in the next few weeks. This course was originally made in January of 2018 so it’s still relatively new.
Verdict
Overall I would recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in cryptocurrency, regardless if you’re planning on coding smart contracts. Simply understanding exactly what Ethereum’s Gas is used for and how it interacts with the smart contract is already an extremely important concept that many still can’t wrap their head around.
Moreover, going through the course will provide you with a more complete understanding of smart contracts. dApps are the bread and butter of cryptocurrency nowadays, staying up to date with the various concepts can only help you with getting a more complete understanding of the tech behind it.
Last but not least, the course is 100% free! You have nothing to lose by giving it a try other than your time. The only downside to the course is it can get a tad boring at times, but boredom is part of learning any new thing. The fact that the course gamifys your experience definitely makes it more fun.
You can give the course a try here: https://cryptozombies.io