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Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

blog.codecombat.com

31–40 of 50 posts

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#31
My experience with CodeCombat:

Pros: I liked it, and I find it fun to learn to make a game that way.

Cons: I found the "campaign" shockingly short - like 10 missions or so, and a few of them weren't even working (stuck on loading). After finishing that campaign, I found the jump to the "user-created" missions too high. I would've expected at least a 50 mission campaign, that walks me through to the more advanced concepts, until most of the user-generated ones feel easy.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#32

My experience with CodeCombat: Pros: I liked it, and I find it fun to learn to make a game that way. Cons: I found the "campaign" shockingly short - like 10 missions or so, and a few of them weren't even working (stuck on loading). After finishing that campaign, I found the jump to the "user-created" missions too high. I would've expected at least a 50 mission campaign, that walks me through to the more advanced conc…

Which levels didn't load for you? I'll check it out. Sorry about that!

The campaign is certainly short a few thousand levels. It will take time for us to get there, since making good programming levels is a challenge even when you aren't trying to fit them into a cohesive campaign. We'll get there, though. Lots to do!

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#33

Have some self-respect. If this was any other profession, a contest like this would not be tolerated. If people get the idea programmers work for free, as long as you have a clever contest, that idea becomes popular and it's bad for all of us in the long run. The fact there's lots of prizes here doesn't change the underlying problem. Contests, in any field, devalue the profession. Even if I was a high school teacher…

No. You may be borrowing this stance from graphic design, which has a (mistakenly) rigid position on "spec work", complete with a "no-spec!" movement that generates complaints in any forum where the notion of a design contest is introduced. Graphic designers feel victimized by "contests" that were actual thinly-veiled attempts to solicit actual uncompensated work. When thinking about no-spec, you should remember that other professions --- particularly law --- routinely do speculative work in the hopes of inking long-term deals with lucrative customers.

There are exploitative contests for software developers. For instance, when a platform vendor hosts a "come up with the best new application for our platform!" contest; whether the contest is rigged or not, all those developers are doing gratis work for the platform, sinking costs that the vendor hopes will result in salable IP bound to their platform.

This, on the other hand, is a video game. The game happens to be controlled in terms of software. The best strategies and solutions for the video game have no value to anyone. Nobody's platform is being built up by gratis work generated by unsuspecting developers. Instead, time that might have been spent playing Netrek or OpenTTD is being spent on a more interesting game.

One way to tell the difference between an exploitative game and "just a game" is whether the organizer of the game gets something more than "publicity" and "stats on the people who played" (both of which are natural outcomes of running any online game). For example, in the exploitative platform game I alluded to above, the organizers got a raft of new applications for their platform that they didn't have to pay for.

I haven't looked carefully at this game, but I sure have run other games --- https://microcorruption.com is one of them --- and I'm happy to discuss them with you as long as you want until you understand that nobody is being exploited by them.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#34
post #24

Have some self-respect. If this was any other profession, a contest like this would not be tolerated. If people get the idea programmers work for free, as long as you have a clever contest, that idea becomes popular and it's bad for all of us in the long run. The fact there's lots of prizes here doesn't change the underlying problem. Contests, in any field, devalue the profession. Even if I was a high school teacher…

Hey pj, sorry you feel that way. I can assure that our intent here is not to get cheap labor, the code that people write won't be usable to use in any way by us or third parties, so as pdenya mentioned you should only enter the contest if you think it's fun!

The part about "let us help you find a job" sounds condescending, as if the industry wasn't begging for developers that can actually write code.

I would argue any developer that understands the Traveling Salesman Problem is turning down job opportunities left and right. Call me a skeptic but if you don't care about the code, then sounds like the ulterior motive is to screen/recruit young developers and get some publicity.

In any case, I'm glad you're concerned about my feelings. I'm not attacking you, I'm attacking the trend. The only type of contest I believe in is a contest for charity. Anyway, you knew the contest would be a risk when you came up with the idea, right?

http://www.quora.com/What-legal-issues-come-up-when-running-...

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#35
post #28

A company blog with no clickable link to the main page?! In 2014?! EDIT: it's there if you widen your browser super wide

Hi malloreon, You can find the link to the main site in the middle of the top bar of the blog where it says "Click Here for the Main CodeCombat Site".

That doesn't show up if the window is too narrow. And "too narrow" is pretty wide.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#36
post #35
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi malloreon, You can find the link to the main site in the middle of the top bar of the blog where it says "Click Here for the Main CodeCombat Site".

That doesn't show up if the window is too narrow. And "too narrow" is pretty wide.

Good catch! I'll have to send some feedback to the guy who runs the blogging platform.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#37
post #26
post #17

> Custom CodeCombat Wizard (est. $500 value) Really?

Yeah, artwork is surprisingly expensive if it's customized. Obviously it's possible to get really cheap artwork, but we've found that quality and reliability are worth paying for. We also allow every winner to iterate the design a few times to get what they want.

What is a code combat wizard and why would we be interested in having one? It sounds like some sort of in-game reward or skin for your avatar, and giving it an imputed value of $500 is pretty optimistic. Has anyone ever paid $500 in cash for a CodeCombat Wizard? NB that the value delivered is not related to the cost for you to produce it.

You might consider putting in an explanation of what these things are and why they are worth more than the services you're giving away with a link on the text, and putting them at the end of the list, because for most people not familiar with your game the value for an in-game character or avatar will hover just above $0.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#38

Have some self-respect. If this was any other profession, a contest like this would not be tolerated. If people get the idea programmers work for free, as long as you have a clever contest, that idea becomes popular and it's bad for all of us in the long run. The fact there's lots of prizes here doesn't change the underlying problem. Contests, in any field, devalue the profession. Even if I was a high school teacher…

Sometimes contests are just harmless fun. This contest is about finding suitable people jobs, not harvesting work for free, as you imply.

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#39
Funny I just started to learn Clojure 2 days ago and dropped it because I lost interest in it.

I always wanted to join some AI competition and this might actually be fun.

The sad part is, there are no game rules. Yes he explained them a little bit in the blog but it was way too broad.

Also there is no tutorial on how to get started anywhere. I am assuming I need this https://github.com/codecombat/codecombat

Re: Write Code, Crush Foes, Get Hired – Multiplayer Programming Tournament

#40

Funny I just started to learn Clojure 2 days ago and dropped it because I lost interest in it. I always wanted to join some AI competition and this might actually be fun. The sad part is, there are no game rules. Yes he explained them a little bit in the blog but it was way too broad. Also there is no tutorial on how to get started anywhere. I am assuming I need this https://github.com/codecombat/codecombat

Hey Maikklein, did you start playing? We built a mini-tutorial into the level itself, along with documentation and API details. We also have a rules tab on the ladder page that describes how the tournament works in broad strokes. If you still have questions, drop us a line at team@codecombat.com
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