We present the conceptual design and first-phase implementation of an 
approach to computer programming instruction that exploits the attractive 
force of video games.  We partition the skills that a professional 
programmer must master into a sequence of eight levels, where each level 
introduces new programming tasks that are to be implemented on a progressively 
more detailed machine architecture. Our approach is intended to foster a 
conceptual understanding of the internal representation of data, and the 
underlying operations being performed on the data by an instruction sequence.  
To motivate the student programmer, our design features the seamless inclusion 
of the programming tasks into a video game where, to progress through the 
levels of the game, the player must also progress through the levels of 
programming tasks. By the end of the game, the player has a thorough mastery 
of fundamental programming skills, including array indexing, recursion and 
pointer variables, together with a solid understanding of the underlying 
computational model and the von  Neuman architecture.