We started without a specific idea in terms of what to present as there are seemingly infinite options out there. So how to escape the problems presented by an infinite set? Pick a generally endorsed option! Most people have some form of understanding about what pokémon are and, for the most part, they are innoffensive and light-hearted. Seems like the perfect option for a hackathon!
Every person who has ever collected a pokemon card knows that you're going to scratch, bend, or harm the physical card in some way. There has to be a better way to feel that you have a personal collection of cards that are safe from the dangers of the physical world!
This is where Hackamon comes in. By way of the PokeAPI users can access every one of the original 151 pokemon from the comfort of their favorite device. Hackamon will turn your phones and computers into your very own Pokédexes (rare candies not included). In addition to this, to add just a little more sauce for any Pokémon fans out there, users can take a quiz that will determine what type of pokémon is their ideal match!
This task afforded us the opportunity to work through problems as a team and break them down into manageable chunks. An example of this would be how we used the API and what it led to.
- We wanted to figure out how best to present the information of pokémon but had several ideas as to how to go about doing this. One of our team pushed an example of an api fetch to our central repository and from there several members proceeded to build onto this basic example to display robust amounts of data from within the JSON object pulled in the fetch.
- With this done it was possible to begin visualizing how this information would be presented based off the design goals we had all agreed upon from the outset. Instead of bashing our heads against one another, we had assigned design roles and thus leaned on the advice of the dedicated designers of our group and brought that vision forward into reality.
- So what's the takeaway? Start simple and have the confidence to allow your team's individual strengths to turn the simplicity of the start into an enlightened end.
This opportunity to collaboratively contribute to a project presented a panoply of new lessons that would most likely be otherwise inaccessible in a regular personal assignment.
- Teamwork makes the dream work
- So far in our coding journey through coder academy it appears that some of us have been afraid, unwilling, or incapable of reaching out to others in-order-to learn from or grow with them.
- This hackathon has been the best opportunity to grow in this sense as it meant we had to come together in so many ways:
- We couldn't just pursue what we wanted.
- We had to compromise so that people felt their opinion was valued and considered.
- We had to fairly split tasks and learn to play to our teammates strengths and assign them roles that they would flourish in rather than forcing a square into a circular hole.
- We had to be comfortable with delegating tasks and truly believing that our team would smash out their individual roles.
- As far as an assignment is concerned this was the closest many of us have felt to an actual workplace simulation and, it appears, most everyone involved really enjoyed the process of working as a team.