whelp, since this thread was resurrected, and since i stumbled across (what appears to be) an interesting new KickStarter campaign aimed at helping folks learn to code… this seems like as good a place as any to drop it… 
CodeSpells: Express Yourself With Magic
Become the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen by crafting magical spells in code.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thoughtstem/codespells-express-yourself-with-magic?ref=category