Monday, March 11, 2013

Hackathon Seeks Apps For Cats

Are you a cat lover, and an iPad app developer? A new hackathon, being held at Amplify in Venice Beach later this month, is looking for you. In what might be the strangest hackathon yet to surface in the Los Angeles area, the GamesForCats Hackathon said today that it is looking for people to enter its hackathon to create iPad games for cats. The top prize: $15,000.

The hackathon, which is being sponsored by cat food brand Purina Friskies, said it is challenging hackers to come up with their best iPad game for cats, with prize of $15,000 for first prize, $3,000 for second prize, and $2,000 for third prize. The hackathon runs on the weekend of March 23rd to 24th at Amplify, according to the organizers.

Hackathons generally pit software developers against a theme, to earn prizes; recent hackathons in the local area include one on a real time communications protocol, movies, not texting while driving, and startups.

As strange as developing videogames for your cat might seem, it's not the first hackathon here to focus on pets: there was one in November around interactive tools for engaging with pets, also at Amplify.

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