This year, over 3000 students from around the world took part in Canada’s biggest hackathon.
As proud supporters of Hack the North, we are excited to share the results of the third virtual hackathon. Nine mentors from Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Quebec had the opportunity to work with passionate students to take on our API challenge in C++. The 12 teams had only 36 hours to build a game from scratch. Despite the time crunch, judges were blown away by their innovation, creativity, and overall determination to create something incredible.
Here’s what Shanze Bukhtawer, Talent Coordinator at Ubisoft Toronto, has to say:
“Despite being virtual for another year, students once again showcased their outstanding talents at this hackathon. Our mentors were amazed at the collaborative effort from all our participants, and we can’t wait for next year to be even bigger.”
Virtual chat with participants of Ubisoft’s Hack the North challenge.
The Challenge
To begin, hackers were given one task: Build a game, from scratch, in just one weekend.
While programming was obviously the focus of the hackathon, students were also responsible for designing gameplay mechanics, producing art, and learning how to use the Ubisoft Hacker NEST framework. Standing atop all the creative and inspiring submissions was Haoyu Zhang, a Software Engineering graduate from Western University. Inspired by classic tower defense games, Haoyu incorporated multiple features. Playing as a courageous builder, you run through the map and strategically construct towers to defend against an alien invasion. But you have to be careful, because towers also deal damage to the player.
gET INVOLVED IN TECH
Hack the North gives students an opportunity to display their talent to industry leaders and collaborate with others from around the world. Open to all skill levels, students who want to work in tech can gain insight from industry experts and level-up their programming abilities in various workshops. Ubisoft developers were so inspired by the creativity, innovation, and engaging discussions generated by this year’s group.
For more information on Hack the North, including public workshops, tech talks and career sessions, check out their website here.
