Code Jams

If you've been around the server for a while, or you just happened to join at the right time, you may have heard of something known as a Code Jam. This page will help answer some questions you may have about them.

What is a Code Jam?

This is the question you might be asking yourself right now. A Code Jam is a chance to create something with a team. In each jam, you are paired up with a group of other users just like yourself who will then be given a type of program to make and a theme to help guide it. You then have a little over a week's time to create the best project you can.

How do I join?

Before each Code Jam, we open up a Qualifier. The Qualifier is a challenge program that you have to write yourself and has to meet certain criteria in order to, well, qualify. The kinds of qualifiers can vary from something like making an RPG inventory layout to making a password generator that meets certain conditions.

How often do these happen?

Our Code Jams happen twice a year. We have a Winter Jam and a Summer Jam.

What happens if I have to drop out?

This does happen from time to time. Life gets in the way, we find out that relative passed away or your significant other RSVP'd you to a wedding you didn't know about until a week before. Ideally we'd like to know about dropouts before the jam starts. But if something does come up, please make sure to communicate that fact to any of our Event Coordinators, Moderators, or Admins. The worst thing you could do is simply abandon your team, and doing so may hurt your chances for participating in future jams.

How experienced do I need to be to join a Code Jam?

This is a question that we get asked a lot but is very difficult to answer. Creating something fun with a team can be a great experience for almost everyone, including relative beginners and more experienced developers. That said, to make it a fun experience for everyone in the team, we do require participants to complete a qualifier task so we can ensure that everyone who enters the jam knows enough of the basics to activily participate in the development process.

Participating in a Code Jam often turns out to be a great learning experience. Not only do you typically get to use packages and libraries you haven't touched before, it will also increase your experience with developing an application in a team. If you have never really done this before, then you'll notice that collaborating with others adds a whole new dimension to the development process. Even if you do have a lot of experience with working in teams, having to collaborate with relative strangers of varying skill levels may provide a different experience than what you're used to.