You wake up in the village of Curiosity, your inventory empty but your will to learn stronger than ever. Welcome, adventurer — your dev journey begins now.
This is your quest map — a practical guide for anyone starting from scratch who wants to become a junior dev in up to 8 months. No magic formulas, just a clear path and lots of XP ahead.
🗺️ Campaign Setup
- Duration: up to 8 months
- Style: solo campaign (co-op mode highly recommended)
- Play time: 1.5 to 2.5 hours/day on weekdays
- XP earned: hands-on projects, deploys, and a shiny portfolio
🧭 The Journey Map
🎒 Level 1 — The Beginner (Month 1)
Quests:
- Learn programming logic using JavaScript
- Master functions, loops, arrays, and objects
Bonus quest: build a calculator or number guessing game
🧠 XP: Core spellcasting skills unlocked
🛠️ Level 2 — The Web Craftsman (Month 2)
Quests:
- Learn HTML and CSS
- Dive into Flexbox and responsive design
- Get started with Git and GitHub
Bonus quest: design a landing page with a contact form
🧠 XP: solid UI building blocks + version control magic
🔍 Level 3 — The DOM Tamer (Month 3)
Quests:
- DOM manipulation with JS
- Handle events and use APIs (fetch)
Bonus quest: build a weather app or movie search app
🧠 XP: dynamic pages + basic API spells
🧪 Level 4 — The Frontend Alchemist (Month 4)
Quests:
- Learn project structure with Vite
- Deploy your first site on Netlify or Vercel
Bonus quest: build a responsive app with error handling
🧠 XP: build, structure, and deploy your first magical app
⚙️ Level 5 — The Backend Adventurer (Month 5)
Quests:
- Create APIs using Node.js and Express
- Understand routes, middlewares, and CRUD
- Use SQLite or MongoDB
Bonus quest: task manager API
🧠 XP: backend mastery unlocked
🧩 Level 6 — The Interface Summoner (Month 6)
Quests:
- Learn React (components, props, useState, useEffect)
- Work with routes and API integration
Bonus quest: dashboard with filters and routing
🧠 XP: UI building with modern magic
🏗️ Level 7 — Fusion of Realms (Month 7)
Quests:
- Connect frontend and backend
- Add login/authentication (JWT)
- Deploy the full stack app
Bonus quest: full stack task manager with auth
🧠 XP: mastering both frontend and backend realms
🧙♂️ Level 8 — The Junior Dev (Month 8)
Quests:
- Build your portfolio website
- Write proper README files
- Update LinkedIn, résumé, and practice interviews
- Apply for your first job(s)
Final Boss: send your résumé to a real dev job
🧠 XP: You’re now a Junior Developer! 🎉
📘 Legendary Loot (Projects)
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| 📐 Calculator | Plain JS project |
| 🌐 Landing Page | HTML/CSS + Form |
| ☁️ Weather App | JS + DOM + API |
| 🔧 Task API | Node/Express + DB |
| 🎨 React Dashboard | React SPA with filters |
| 🔐 Full Stack App | Auth + Connected Front/Back |
| ✨ Portfolio | Personal site showcasing your journey |
🧠 Tavern Tips
- Don’t fight alone — ask questions, join a guild (community), share what you learn
- Write good READMEs — it shows you're leveling up
- You don’t need to know everything to start — just enough to play
- Compare your progress to yesterday, not to the level 99 wizards on Twitter/X
- And the most important; have fun!