Hackathons, those multi-day marathons for designers, developers, hackers and makers to push their tech ideas to new limits, aren't all fun and games. But then again, the top winner earlier this month at Lehigh Valley Tech's second annual hackathon, was Let's Play Internets, a light-hearted use of technology billed as “an online game for social people.”
The games are “anything we can come up with that can be answered by the Internet,” say the developers. The app allows multiple players at a party or bar to view questions on a TV or other large screen and respond on their smartphones.
Sample multiple-choice question: “Which autocomplete suggestion is best, according to Google? Why ain't I … pregnant yet; seeing any deer; rich; running?” A countdown clock runs as players make their selection, their choice is tagged with a chip icon. When time is up, the screen shows the correct answer and tells the players who won.
Developers Greg van Brug, Mark Allen and Joe Fritz are looking for designers, developers, game makers and folks interested in working with data. “A weird sense of humor is a plus,” they say.
More practical was number two winner, Rain Pumper, a garden pump assembled at the hackathon on a 3D printer. Trickle, “a place for designers to share/find various designs, and attribute inspiration,” according to hackathon organizer Tim Lytle, was third and Webstagram was named “notable project.”
About 70 attended the April 5-7 hackathon, says Lytle, about half of them students from Lehigh and Kutztown universities and Northampton Community College. Next up for Lehigh Valley Tech, he adds, in addition to the group's popular monthly meetups, is a two-day civic hackathon in June, focused on use of data and technology for public service projects, and the annual Startup Weekend in November.
Source: Tim Lytle, Lehigh Valley Tech
Writer: Elise Vider