Arganoid Tuition
Computer Science and programming tutor with 13 years experience as a programmer in the videogame industry and 8 years tutoring experience
I grew up with early computers such as the ZX Spectrum, and was writing simple programs from the age of five. Thirty years on, I've worked on games that have sold millions, including Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Kinectimals and Kinect Disneyland Adventures.
I am available for individual tuition on:
- GCSE, A-Level and degree-level Computer Science
- General purpose programming skills
- Game, web and app development
No previous programming experience is necessary. Tuition is available both locally (Newmarket and Cambridge area) and nationally (via Skype, Zoom or similar, using screen sharing).
I charge £56 per hour - with A-level, GCSE and younger students I often do 45 min sessions, which are £42.
For A-level and GCSE students, I produce a comprehensive spreadsheet to keep track of their progress - listing each part of the course syllabus, including my own notes on the topics and links to relevant resources. I also maintain a number of YouTube playlists of videos relevant to the courses.
E-mail tutor@arganoid.com to arrange a session or for more information.
I have been tutoring since 2015, during which time I have tutored around 300 students at all levels. I have an up-to-date DBS check as of 2021.
I have written articles on game development for Wireframe magazine - e.g. Coding Space Invaders’ disintegrating shields, and was a major contributor to Code the Classics, published by Raspberry Pi Press.
Gameography
As a programmer at Frontier Developments
- Dog's Life (2003) - PlayStation 2
- RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (2004) - PC
- RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! (2005) - PC
- RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild! (2005) - PC
- Thrillville (2006) - PS2, Xbox, PSP
- Thrillville: Off the Rails (2007) - PS2, XBox 360, Wii, PC
- LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias (2009) - Wii
- Kinectimals (2010) - XBox 360
- Kinect Disneyland Adventures (2011) - XBox 360
- Elite Dangerous (2014) - PC
As an independent developer
- Games for Code the Classics Volume I (2019)
- Games for Code the Classics Volume II (2024)
- Partition Sector (2021) - PC
- Reality Drift (due 2025) - PC
Articles and books
- Sep 2024: Book: Code the Classics Volume II
- June 2021: Wireframe magazine: Snakes in a Maze (there is an an editing error in the published version of the article. In the second paragraph, the first sentence should start "My plans changed due to a game which is nothing like Bomberman – the word game Boggle")
- March 2021: Wireframe magazine: How not to code - a guide to concise programming
- Dec 2019: Book: Code the Classics Volume I
- March 2019: Wireframe magazine: Coding Space Invaders' disintegrating shields
- Feb 2019: Wireframe magazine: Building a text adventure
Programming languages I've worked in extensively
- C/C++
- C#
- Python
- Java
- JavaScript
- Lua
- HTML/CSS
- Assembly language
- Flash/Actionscript
- Training languages such as BASIC, Pascal/Delphi, LOGO, Scratch and MIT App Inventor
Programming languages in which I have some experience
- Haskell
- Scala
- Perl
- Ruby
Technologies I've worked with include
- Unity (game development system)
- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Windows Forms
- Allegro and SDL (game development libraries)
- ExpressJS, Django and React (web development frameworks)
Testimonials
Dante learned a lot from Andrew about Computer Science. He felt that Andrew was very patient and
supportive and guided him through the various A-level topics for this subject. He furthermore provided
exercises for Dante to complete during the lesson and discussed their outcome which was really beneficial.
-- Annika B
Andrew is an excellent tutor. I have made huge progress since starting work with Andrew last year.
It seems like a different life! When we started, I was teaching Latin and French in Croydon. Now thanks
to Andrew's help, I am now working as a Front-End Web Developer in Brighton at a well-known web development
company. I am absolutely thrilled with the work we have done which started with bash commands and the
terminal, then developing Ruby, Object-Oriented Design, JavaScript, CSS and problem solving. I would
certainly recommend Andrew as an excellent tutor who enables outstanding progress and success for his students.
-- Tom
Andrew has taught my son over the last year. He is very diligent in his teaching methods, addresses any misunderstandings
in the lessons immediately and always clearly explains the subject matter. He is very organised, punctual and committed.
His teaching has been very beneficial as my son’s grades improved significantly over the course of the year.
Would definitely recommend him!
-- Madhu
Andrew has been brilliant with my 12 year old son. He has been able to keep him engaged with his coding
whilst teaching him in an age appropriate way. My son has even asked for a lesson over his school holidays!
-- Carrie