Game On, Future Engineer: When Your Video Game Teaches You to Code

What if the screen time everyone worries about… quietly turned into STEM time?

In There’s a Robot in my Video Game, part of the beloved series by Dr. Carlotta A. Berry and illustrated by Anak Bulu, we meet Maya and her favorite in-game robot, Pixel. But Pixel isn’t just there to rack up points. Pixel is there to teach.

And that’s where the magic happens.

🎮 Coding Inside the Console

Maya quickly realizes she’s not just playing a game—she’s programming one.

She teaches Pixel to:

• Move in a square

• Play music

• Dance

• Light up

• Follow a ball

These aren’t random tricks. They’re foundational robotics and programming concepts wrapped in fun. Sequencing. Loops. Logic. Cause and effect. Problem-solving.

Translation? Maya is building computational thinking skills while having a blast.

This is what happens when curiosity meets code.

👩🏾‍💻 Representation in Digital Spaces

Maya teaching Arya how to play a robot coding video game.

For many children—especially girls and underrepresented students—video games are rarely framed as gateways to engineering. This story flips that narrative.

Maya is not just consuming technology. She is creating with it.

She experiments. She debugs. She tries again. She succeeds.

That mindset shift—from player to programmer—is everything.

And because this story centers a young girl confidently coding, it quietly expands who belongs in robotics, AI, and engineering.

No permission required.

🤖 Pixel: The Gateway Robot

Pixel isn’t just a character. Pixel is a bridge.

Through Pixel, Maya learns:

• Algorithms (move in a square)

• Inputs and outputs (follow the ball)

• Creative coding (music and dance routines)

• Iteration and testing

And then she does something powerful.

She teaches her little sister, Arya.

Because STEM isn’t just something you learn. It’s something you share.

🎯 From Gamer to Game Changer

Maya and Arya slapped a high five after their robots finished the race.

This book sends a clear message: innovation can start anywhere—even inside your favorite video game.

It validates digital curiosity. It reframes play as possibility. It models peer-to-peer mentorship.

And most importantly, it reminds children that technology is not just something they use. It’s something they can shape.

That’s the NoireSTEMinist®️ difference.

💡 Why This Book Belongs in Classrooms and Homes

• Perfect introduction to programming for K–5 students

• Encourages girls to see themselves as coders and engineers

• Connects gaming to real-world robotics concepts

• Reinforces creativity, logic, and collaboration

• Models sibling mentorship in STEM

This is how we normalize engineering at the kitchen table.

This is how we change the face of STEM—one Pixel at a time.

Ready to power up your child’s curiosity? Let Maya and Pixel show them that the next level isn’t in the game.

It’s in their imagination.

There's a Robot In My Video Game now available in the NoireSTEMinist®️ shop and everywhere that books are sold.

Maya sits at the computer on her video game with Pixel the robot in the game