Game programming contests drive student interest, experience and skill—and are putting UVic on the map in the programming world On Saturday, Feb. 20, UVic played host to a virtual
battle, attended by over 300 students and developers wanting to test their artificial intelligence programming skills. It was the third annual BattleSnake competition. In the classic arcade
game Snake, a player maneuvers a growing “snake” around the computer screen. As the snake grows in size, it becomes more difficult for the player to avoid making the snake run into itself.
BattleSnake builds on this simple game: as the snake eats apples, it grows in size. Run into a wall, your own tail, or another snake’s tail and it’s game over. But there’s a competitive aspect
to this version: run head-on into another player’s snake and the longer one consumes the shorter one.