Underplayed Gems

The Code Room

The Code Room poster
Genre
reality television
Country
United States
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More series like this

How it feels

Teams of software developers compete against the clock to build a project from scratch using unfamiliar tools. They work in a room with no internet access and only a quick lesson before starting. The show follows their attempts to complete the task.

competitivefast-pacededucationalchallengingcollaborativenerdydeadline-driven

What happens

The Code Room is a half-hour-long reality game show produced by Microsoft. The show was conceptualized and executive produced by Paul Murphy and hosted by Jessi Knapp, accompanied by a varying project expert. Each episode consists of a number of MSDN Developer Event attendees who team up to complete a project, with given specifications, in a limited amount of time. It should not be confused with The Code Room from DMD and the group that introduced the world to the "Hybrid Hostel". The Code Room was filmed at an MSDN Developer Event and shown on several cable television stations, as well as other streaming television stations like MSDN TV. The show could also be watched for free through the Channel 9 community, and was additionally included in several MSDN CDs and DVDs. The "Code Room" was typically an enclosed room with one or more desks, whiteboards and computers. All required programming tools were installed, along with other stationery. However, no internet connection was available and contestants could not bring their own notes. Contestants had to use preselected development environments which were typically new to them, having only been given a quick crash course about the environment in a presentation before the contest began. Teams that were able to complete the project within the required time were eligible for prizes and to be part of "Team Code FF". At the end of the series, the two top "Team Code FF" teams (determined by their performance, as well as community ranking) competed in the Final Code Room challenge for the ultimate "Code Room Champion" title. The program won a Telly Award in 2004. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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