Hack Chicago
My mom dropped us off in front of a skimpy warehouse. My friend John and I each had a huge backpack and sleeping bag on our backs — we have a long night ahead of us, and the best of all, it’s student-only!
Welcome to , the Lollapalooza for coders. The warehouse was completely packed with high-schoolers from Chicago to Michigan. Sleeping bags, toothbrushes, laptops, huge monitors, and Oculus Rift kits were scattered around on tables and floors. We mingled in the crowd, and finally, I found a snug hallway behind the kitchen counter (making it very easy to snack and hack) and settled in.
At the opening ceremony, we were introduced to a platform we would become very familiar with: repl.it, an online tool that could run multiple languages, some even working together like HTML, CSS, and Javascript, all running at the same time to emulate a site. “The limit to what you can create is your imagination!” And with that being the endnote for the open ceremony, the timer for 24 hours turned on.
I had an ambitious goal: creating an app that could help students use their supplies efficiently. “SMart” will be its name. The goal was to allow students to trade, sell or give away supplies. I came up with this idea when I saw my classmates throwing away books in perfect condition that could be used by next year’s students.
I imagined the construction of the app to be straightforward. Surrounded by so many passionate coders hitting their keyboard frantically, I felt so pumped up to start my work. While we were working on the app, I pop into different seminars teaching us how to use repl.it, the basics of the website and the languages. Going into the night, I was energized by these interactive while trying to absorb as much technique as I can to apply to my own app. With unlimited empanadas and soda, I talked to other hackers and observed them developing health sensors, star mapping system, maze generators, projects from all scopes tackling on all different kinds of problems.
Soon I discovered that I have overestimated our rookie coding abilities. SMart, ambitious as it was, clearly wasn’t going to be finished in time. We quickly came up with a new idea, to create a digital version of a foreign variation on the strategic game of rock paper scissors (RPS). John and I traded spots working on the code. While he slept, I continued progress on the game, clicking and clacking away in my sleeping bag under the table. Then, I went to sleep as he continued to do his part of the work. I woke up by hearing an event coordinator shouting “three hours to go!” With a stiff back and a stiff mind, I knew there was no time to waste. We put all our effort into the game. I maneuvered around the obstacles by coding and learning new techniques on the spot. We polished the game up as much as we could in DrRacket, and gave it the title “Rock Paper Scissors Stretch.” At the final ceremony, we presented our work on two laptops, demonstrating our product.
Here’s a link to the project page of Rock Paper Scissors Stretch
Time passes quickly when you are surrounded by hundreds of earnest and caffeinated teenagers. When the clock struck, I finished the game with a sore back but an excited mind. It’s motivating to see my coding pool of knowledge expands immensely in one night by practicing and using the latest and the most efficient tools. I never knew I could learn so much while having fun in one night. Hack Chicago inspired me to create the “Mobile App Inventor Club” in my high school, and I encouraged a group of self experimenters with curious minds to experiment just for the fun of it, and collaborate as much as we could to solve a problem or create a nerdy game.
