Search marketing agency Epiphany will again be running Code in the Dark – a competition pitting the best front-end developers against one another in front of a live audience – as part of the Leeds Digital Festival.
Epiphany first brought the event to the UK in 2016 and it is free to enter as both a contestant and part of the audience. It will be held in Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen and is sponsored by cloud hosting provider Brightbox.
A total of 25 web developers will compete across five preliminary heats before a nail-biting final. Code in the Dark is conducted in an “intense party atmosphere”, with electro music, lasers and smoke.
Each round sees contestants given an identical screenshot of a website, and just 15 minutes to recreate it using HTML and CSS. Only the audience can see the output of their work, leaving each contender ‘in the dark’ as to whether their designs are accurate or not.
Every round has a winner, voted for by the audience, based on accuracy of design. An overall winner will also be chosen by the audience, winning £150 Amazon vouchers, a trophy, and fame on the Code in the Dark website.
UK’s Code in the Dark event organiser Alex Bennett said: “This isn’t your usual web developer event – we’re making coding a spectator sport. The competition rounds are intense assaults on the senses with music, drinks and a constant stream of stressed developers fighting for a spot in the final, there is this amazing social atmosphere going on.
“This is the UK’s third Code in the Dark, and to be part of Leeds Digital Festival is a huge honour. We can’t wait to see what this year’s contestants bring.”
Epiphany MD Tom Salmon added: “Leeds is a vibrant centre of digital talent and the third installment of Code in the Dark is going to showcase the web development skills that can be found right across the city. Epiphany is one of the city’s largest digital employers and we’re pleased to be bringing Code in the Dark to Leeds again in 2018”.
Leeds Digital Festival is the north’s largest open platform digital festival.
