EssentialSkillz win first place at SmartBear Doom Hackathon

Team EssentialSkillz code their way to victory.

In September members of the EssentialSkillz development team took part in a software meet-up with a difference.

SmartBear, a software developer based in Galway teamed-up with legendary game developer John Romero to host Doom Hackathon, an event that challenges teams to create a speed run through the first level of the iconic first-person shooter DOOM using only RESTful API calls.

Held at the up-and-coming PorterShed tech space, the event proved incredibly popular, drawing developers from a wide variety of backgrounds.

As Ireland’s fasted growing city Galway has become a technological gateway in recent years, with multi-national giants such as HP, Electronic Arts and Boston Scientific setting up home in the Galway City Innovation District (GCID) and the aptly named ‘Silicon Square’ (Eyre Square).

Competing against a sold-out venue, Team EssentialSkillz took first place with a time of 38 seconds. They received a haul of signed Doom merchandise, the chance to take part in a Q+A with Romero and a visit to his independent game studio, Romero Games.

Additional prizes were also awarded for the most secrets collected, as well as the most inventive and entertaining use of code.

Originally part of iD Software, Romero is a well-known figure in the field of game design and is famous for creating iconic titles such as DOOM, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake. Now living and working in Galway, Romero is an active figure in the cities tech-scene.

EssentialSkillz is thrilled with our team’s success, as well as the opportunity to play a part in the exceptional growth taking place in its home town.

Want to find out more about life at EssentialSkillz? Visit our About Us page.

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