Supercell has successfully recruited many Hivers during the past few years. They have done so via a coding challenge, exclusive to Hive students, where the winners get a full-time internship at Supercell. Now, for the third time in a row, Supercell was back at Hive in search of new talented interns.
Buzzing with excitement
Who wouldn’t want to work at one of the most successful gaming companies on the planet? Needless to say, when we announced that Supercell is back with the coding challenge again this year, the whole community at the Hive campus was buzzing with excitement.
Challenge accepted
To take part in the challenge, our students are asked to build a basic game using C++. Specifications are revealed in the morning, the day before the challenge, and the Hivers have 24 hours to chew on them and decide how they want to approach it.
The following morning, the source code is shared, and the students then have one day to complete the task of building a basic working game, with their own twist, of course.
What are the judges looking at?
The most important criteria are how the game plays: Is it fun? Does it feel good? Are there no major bugs? Playtest your game and make sure it’s fun to play. Equally important are the features you’ve added beyond the basic specs. Add value and really show what you can do — don’t just re-skin what you’ve been provided.
The game must be frame-rate independent, and you should give the judges clear and simple instructions so they know how to play the game. Of course, the judges are also looking at the code itself: Is it tidy, well-structured, and easy to read and follow?
Demo day!
For the first time, we organized a Demo Day for the applicants, hosted by some of our own Hive alumni at Supercell, Caruy Chen and Hans Elneff. It was a very relaxed interactive session where applicants could present their work and receive personalized feedback.
The session offered a chance to share ideas, celebrate each other’s efforts, and learn together. We hope it inspired Hivers to reflect on their work, draw ideas for future challenges, exchange feedback, and keep the good vibes flowing!
Wrapping it up
Once again, our students had an amazing time taking part in this unique opportunity. Everyone challenged themselves, went out of their comfort zone, and learned something new. We want to give a huge shout-out to Supercell for arranging this and yet again returning to Hive to discover new junior talent. Hope to see you again next year!