Last week TopCoder held their Tournament Open at the Mirage casino in Vegas (sponsored by AOL). It was World Series of Poker meets the National Spelling Bee…as coders from all over the world competed in head to head algorithm and design competitions for cash and prizes. It was a completely surreal experience as each competitor was called into the “ring”…music blaring, ESPN cameras, and play by play announcers discussing win/loss records and ‘fighting styles’.

This year for the first time TopCoder extended their contest to include a studio design competition with over $30K in prizes. Before the Open, competitors wishing to participate took part in an eight-week long online event. The top ranking participants were then invited to Vegas (expenses paid) to battle it out in a web-design cage match. The eight were told to redesign the new TopCoder Design homepage in eight hours or less. It was quite intense.

It was extremely engaging to watch as the competitors evolved from a blank canvas to a fully realized work of art…in real time. Cameras broadcast each competitor’s workstation to kiosks throughout the event arena so observers could watch every move and view every keypress. Bob Ross would be proud.

At periodic intervals during the competition, the judges would provide feedback and critique (an adhoc design review to ensure the design was heading in the right direction and adhering to requirements). After the first critique some went back to the drawing board, some continued with their vision independent of the judges’ feedback (final results were based solely on the votes from the TopCoder user base, not the judges, “American Idol”-style). And some…fell asleep. The winning entry at days end was boosted by a power nap around the mid-way point in the competition.

All in all, makes you think about how we structure projects and define productivity day to day in the “real world”. TopCoder needed a homepage redesign so, they sponsored a head to head competition, set the clock at eight hours, threw some cash prizes in the mix, and viola. Fun had by all. Wikinomics continues to astound.

For those designers wanting some pocket money and looking to showcase their talent, give one of the upcoming competitions a try. http://studio.topcoder.com.

-Corey