In December 2022, we hosted our annual Hack Week. Throughout this week, Robloxians put our values into motion by pursuing tasks that drive fast innovation. This was our largest annual self-organized occasion to this point, with over 400 workers throughout 225 groups competing for a spot within the prime three in every of 4 classes.
Unleashing Curiosity and Driving Innovation for Our Platform
Hack Week takes place throughout our annual code freeze, which supplies everybody throughout Roblox time to pursue a various set of tasks. We take no matter has piqued our curiosity all year long and act on it. A number of previous tasks have gone on to grow to be fully-implemented merchandise or options on the platform.
So, what’s the key to lining up an superior Hack Week venture? It’s all about taking huge dangers and asking huge questions. “We’re speaking about reimagining the best way individuals come collectively,” shares Dave Baszucki, Founder & CEO. “We’re speaking in regards to the evolution of communication know-how, all the best way from telephone to video to immersive 3D. I believe one of many largest issues that this week does is validate our imaginative and prescient. It’s not 20 years away. It’s one thing that we’re making progress on yearly. Hack Week is the final word definition of innovation at scale.”
This 12 months, tasks reached all components of the platform and technical stack. Listed here are a few of this 12 months’s tasks to indicate the breadth of what groups labored on:
- Supporting dwell performances in Roblox with the creation of an open-source plugin that permits streaming of audio and movement seize information to drive avatars within the expertise.
- A picture filter element that can permit our builders to control their photos so their experiences have a particular type.
- A framework to carry out widespread debugging and testing actions that shall be accessible on all consumer platforms.
- A dashboard to investigate the official Creator Documentation and supply details about how one can enhance its protection and high quality.
Including a New Stage of Competitors
“Hack Week is unquestionably not per week off. It’s a week on for the people who find themselves taking part,” says Claus Moberg, VP of Engineering and Hack Week organizer. “We work laborious at Roblox, however this can be the toughest that any person works all 12 months. You may have a really quick time interval to get your venture performed. And it’s aggressive.”
In previous years, senior leaders evaluated and hand-selected tasks that had been notably revolutionary to share out with your complete firm. This 12 months, we developed a judging and scoring course of to establish the very best of the very best. Throughout registration, groups chosen one of many 4 firm values for his or her tasks, which additionally decided the judging classes. To submit, groups created a three-minute-long video that showcased their work. A panel of over a dozen judges – senior leaders from throughout Roblox – evaluated every submission, narrowing down the tasks to finalists. On the 12 months’s final City Corridor, the finalists offered, answered questions, after which awaited last placements.
As one of many judges, Claus regarded for a few attributes in every venture. “I’m actually excited to see every little thing from large long-term innovation to near-term tactical options. Total, I’m in search of tasks that talk to our core firm values and have impression on our customers, workers, and on Roblox as a complete.”
The Winners
Hack Week closed with an awards celebration the place the finalists discovered about their placements of their respective classes and claimed their Hack Week trophies. Stef Corazza, Head of Studio Engineering – Creator, was a member of the staff that took dwelling the 2nd place trophy within the Take the Lengthy View class. His staff’s venture centered round bringing dwell performances to Roblox. Whereas profitable was nice, his favourite half about Hack Week was, “… actually in regards to the staff and the way we got here collectively. All six of us had totally different ability units with very totally different backgrounds.”
Two highlights caught out for first place winners of the We’re Accountable class Kevin Koleckar and Nicholas Choi. “Attending to collaborate with somebody that I’m not normally collaborating with was my favourite half,” says Kevin. “Nick and I’ve been on the identical staff up to now, however over the past 12 months, we’ve labored on various things. Hack Week gave us the possibility to come back again and work on one thing collectively.”
For Nick, Hack Week created area to pursue one thing he’s been eager about. “Our venture has been one thing I’ve been excited about doing for a extremely very long time, so it was simply actually thrilling to see it come to fruition.”
In line with Claus, it’s not all about profitable. “There are such a lot of tasks which can be unbelievable and that actually are the way forward for the platform. All the work that individuals have put in is being acknowledged by leaders on the firm and goes to be shared with the groups which can be answerable for these areas. Each single venture has the potential to tell how our product is constructed transferring ahead.”
Claus continues, “Hack Week at Roblox is basically core to our tradition of innovation. Yearly, we see tasks that blow our minds. The best way our groups assault these huge questions and discover options to issues no one has constructed earlier than… Hack Week is among the best examples of Roblox’s method to innovation.”
Take a look at a spotlight reel of the profitable groups and their tasks: