Rock Paper Scissors Takes To The Cloud

Rock Paper Scissors is a fun little project I have talked about before (most recently at Heuristics–Programs that Learn) The real fun comes in pitting your program against the programs written by others. Rock Paper Azure is a cloud based programming event where you can compete for prizes. Oh and for added fun we’ve added Dynamite and Water Balloons to the mix. To compete in the contest (some prizes listed below) you have to upload your game bot to the Azure cloud. There are full instructions on that on the RockPaperAzure web site were you will find all the information you need to compete.

You will also find code for both the basic (empty) bot and a Bot Lab. The Bot Lab will allow you to test your own or even a class load of sample bots locally before uploading them to the cloud for the competition. For test runs in the Bot Lab (and on the contest site as well) you can see logs of the games your bot participates in to see how it is doing. I can see this as a class project (perhaps something for after the AP exam but maybe right away if you are not an AP course). I believe you could probably use the Bot Lab to run your own in-school competition as well.

The code is in C# but students used to Java or C++ shouldn’t have much trouble with this. Visual Basic students should look at this as a chance to learn something new.

BUILD YOUR BOT AND WIN

Strategic coding will help you topple the competition and win great prizes, including:

1st: XBox 360 / Kinect bundle
2nd: Kinect
3rd: $50 Gift Card

Everyone who enters will also receive an official Rock Paper Azure Challenge t-shirt.

UPCOMING WEBCASTS

Check out our weekly "Getting Started" webcasts. We'll show you step-by-step how to officially enter the contest and upload your bot. You might even score some inside tips and tricks. To register, select a date below.