Have you ever been stumped by that famous whodunit board game in the amount of notes you must keep in order to play the game successfully? Now, thanks to a group of tenacious programmers, there’s an app for that. In the 24-hour Code Camp contest, team members D.J. Holt, Daniel Evans, Daniel Gubler, and Curtis Larsen created an application called C.L.U. that allows players to keep track of all the suggestions and clues for more efficient game play.

Second-place winner in the November 10-11 event was Four Estate, for their app that allows those shopping for a home to collect significant amounts of information from a QR scan on a real estate sign. The Four Estate team includes Andrew Page, Joe Ferguson, Justin Steele, and Andrew Neff.

QR Hunter, a scavenger hunt type app that Code Camp judges believe could have commercial value in local business promotions, took third place.  QR Hunter involves a trail of phone scans in various locations of a region which eventually result in a prize. John Leith, Brian Olsen, Dave Johnson and Nolan Bradshaw created this application

Code Camp rules decreed that teams of one to four members bring their laptops and project ideas to the Dixie State College Gardner Center Ballroom where tables, chairs, electric and Internet wireless connectivity were provided.  While teams were allowed to design and collect data prior to the event, no coding took place until the 6:00 pm Thursday kick-off.

Judges Eric Pedersen, Ron Woodland, and Russ Ross from Dixie State College (DSC) and Rob Robertson from Southern Utah University (SUU) said the 17 projects created in the 24-hour coding blitz were very difficult to judge in five-minute presentation slots.  “I’ve never been assaulted with so much tech entrepreneurism in such a short amount of time in my life,” Pedersen said.

Judges also picked a unique education application called Don’t Lecture Me: Teach Me to receive the business viability award. While most teams included four members, Trent Staheli and Steve Whittekiend were the only two creators of this project.

Projects were judged on technical expertise, completeness, novelty/innovation, aesthetic appeal, and business viability. Judges were impressed with the variety of projects produced by a variety of skill sets. Some applications, such as Cash Dragon, featured impressive graphics while others had definite business and education appeal.

Campers were a mix of industry professionals, many of whom were graduates of DSC and SUU, as well as students of the two institutions. Zack Alvey, a computer teacher at Pine View High School, also brought students who completed an app called Dinner Bell aimed to help extended families schedule and send out reminders and texts for family gatherings.

Campers did get tired during the marathon event, and by Friday morning, at least half a dozen were fast asleep in the Gardner Center lounge.  Throughout the day participants could be seen taking short breaks with faces planted on pillows next to keyboards and bodies stretched out on the ballroom floor.

Despite the long hours, organizers were amazed at the amount of work accomplished in the compressed time frame. Chair Jeff Poulton noted that many of the project that could be developed for viable use. “The teams need to do the rest of the work and finish these,” he said. “ Some of these will make money.”

Sponsors of the event were also encouraged by the projects, but their primary purpose was to encourage talent. “We always need people,” Shane Callahan of Steton Technologies said.

Code Camp was produced by the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) Initiative and SEED Dixie. Sponsors were: Dixie State College, Overact Dev, Steton Technologies, Durham Jones Pinegar Law, True Scale Technologies, CaboSoft, Tonaquint Data Center, Lava Subs, Infowest, Wilson Electronics, In Your Face, Velocity Webworks, and Kari Design.