Code Arena

Inspiration

The main inspiration for Code Arena, I would say, is Codewars, a platform I had been using earlier in my programming journey. Codewars is still a great site to go to test your knowledge in programming and problem-solving, while also being given the freedom to choose any language that you are comfortable with in developing your skillset.

With the rise of AI, I see it all over YouTube, many developers, especially juniors, are losing their ability to problem-solve and write code. So I saw a fun solution to such a problem. Imagine competing against a friend, your classmates or co-workers, or even online while interacting with people. The aim is to accommodate all levels of coders from beginner to high-end devs with years of experience, and maybe some challenges that can allow for AI assistance, but we'll see what the future holds.

The whole point of the application is to train and flex your problem-solving brain muscles, even in this rapidly developing AI ecosystem. With some bragging rights here and there as you flex your code completion speed, ranks, and global/regional rankings.

What it does

Code Arena is quite a big application, so currently it doesn't do as much as it should, but with the help of Bolt and AI, the dream can become a reality in less than a year. Currently, the application allows for users to edit their profiles, create challenges, and complete challenges to earn points. There is also an admin page that manages users, submitted challenges, and tournament creation. Still working on getting the real-time aspect for tournaments and challenging people.

How I built it

So this was part of the "One Prompt" challenge, but now that I think of it, I shouldn't have, and from the amazing starting point that Bolt gave me, I went and did all the touch-up and additional work of building up the rest of the program. Due to time constraints, I had been using GitHub Copilot in parallel with all the development to guide the connecting and implementation process along to get most features up & running.

Challenges we ran into

I think time was a huge factor for this project. I entered this project thinking I'd have all the time to participate and make this amazing application and many others; however, life happened, and I ended up making only this project to the point where I can submit something that is currently functioning to a degree. I would love to get the investment push this and many other projects off the ground, and also the ability to meet up with people outside, and collaborate more, which I never got the chance to do this time.

I've enjoyed the journey and appreciate the opportunity that Bolt has given us to push creativity, with the resources provided to develop amazing applications. As I continue to catch up with the rest of the livestreams, I'm glad to see all this possibility and many people developing cool tools that could prove very useful.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

This really was a fun learning experience. I recently started working as a software developer, current role is as a consultant, about a year ago and this would be the first time I've worked on such a big project and I doubt I could have done this or made this much progress with Bolt having hosted this competition and all the resources that were provided. I will continue to work on my projects with these new tools at my disposal.

What I learned

What it takes to build a full application. Design principles, task listing, ingenuity, capabilities of AI and possibly a lot more.

What's next for Code Arena

The aim is to complete the core features and attract a following to the project. Hopefully, with the direction I see development going in, this could be one of the first platforms that drives a new era of e-sports, but for coding. I see this project as similar to a game of chess, but with a high level of complexity and challenge.

Built With

• copilot
• css
• postgresql
• react
• supabase
• typescript