Discover my journey of winning 3rd place in the RetroAI Hackathon 2024 as a solo participant. In this blog, I share valuable insights, strategies, and tips that helped me succeed. Learn how to prepare, manage time, and leverage AI tools for a winning hackathon experience.
I’m happy 😊 to share that I’ve secured 3rd place in the RetroAI Quest Hackathon (text-based AI Hackathon) from Hackathon Raptors!
Hi everyone, this is my first article on this website. And I can’t wait to tell you about my solo hackathon experience, in which I fortunately placed third.
Table of Contents
About the Hackathon Raptors
Every month Hackathon Raptors organize AI hackathons and invite industry experts from companies like Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon to judge your projects.
Hackathon Raptors is a place where people with incredible brains and bold visions mix and merge their thoughts and abilities, setting the stage for revolutionary ideas.
How I Joined the Hackathon?
One day, I got a message on my WhatsApp from Reskill about the RetroAI Quest Hackathon! Develop a text-based adventure game powered by AI inspired by classic interactive fiction of the 1980s.
I Remember that it was Friday, and I saw my email around 8 – 9 PM. I remembered that I had participated in the hackathon that had already started. So, I opened my Laptop and went through all the resources shared during the hackathon to understand the actual goal.
How did I start?
I studied narrative writing, text-based games, and traditional terminals. Several pictures, movies, and articles posted online inspired me. I’ve also spent a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials and using Gemini and Chat GPT to get my questions answered.
So after doing a lot of research, finally I have a plan to execute which is to make a project called “RetroAI Quest”.
What did I make?
The idea behind RetroAI Quest was to combine AI and classic text-based gameplay, creating an engaging story where AI generates dynamic narratives based on player choices. Focus on crafting engaging narratives and innovative AI interactions within a text-only format.
To participate in this AI hackathon I have used React to build the app. I used Context API & Gemini AI. Here’s what I focused on:
Terminal-Based Interface: I have created a classical terminal and added some default commands like cd, help, set.
Dynamic Storytelling: The game generates new events and character responses in real time using AI. Players will encounter multiple decision points leading to different outcomes, adding replayability. You can read the Retro AI game story here. After the initial story, AI will guide you.
Replayability: Every play-through offers a different story due to the dynamic AI elements and multiple endings.
Help System: I have added help commands to guide players with available actions.
Game History: The game tracks user actions and history for a truly personalized feel.
ASCII Art: I have used ASCII art to add a nostalgic touch to the retro-style interface. Also, I have used AI to generate ASCII art.
Source Code
You can find the source code on Github: RetoAI-Quest
you can see the final output on Vercel
Conclusion
In this blog, I share my solo journey of winning 3rd place in the RetroAI Quest Hackathon 2024. It was a text-based AI hackathon organized by Hackathon Raptors.
I hope you’ll find insights, strategies, & tips that helped me succeed. I hope you will soon participate in the upcoming AI Hackathon through various platforms. You can connect with me via LinkedIn & follow me on GitHub.
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