“It’s also sort of a gateway drug to becoming a programmer.”

In REPOD season 6, episode 9, we have a rare interview with Eric Wastl, who is not only the creative mind behind Advent of Code, but he is also married to our very own Kate Wastl who writes for Room Escape Artist and is the producer for RECON 24 in Los Angeles this August. Advent of Code is a series of unique programming puzzles that launches on December 1st every year and continues until Christmas.

Eric initially created Advent of Code as a means of helping people improve their programming skills. He has certainly accomplished this goal. Over a million people have tackled his programming puzzles in the span of 8 years, with a quarter of a million last year alone. In this episode, Eric takes us behind the scenes, telling us about how meticulously he writes his puzzles to ensure only one correct answer. He also constructs them to be inclusive, so that participants of all skill levels can solve Advent of Code.

Creating captivating puzzles isn’t merely about providing a brainteaser. The right puzzle can educate, entertain, and even bring together a community. To join this festive programming journey, head over to Advent of Code on December 1st.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:04 Introduction and Sponsor Break: COGS
• 01:34 Welcome to the Reality Escape Pod
• 01:49 Introducing Eric Wastl and Advent of Code
• 02:28 Understanding Programming Puzzles
• 03:51 The Advent of Code Journey
• 05:50 The Importance of Teaching and Learning in Programming
• 09:23 The Challenges of Puzzle Design
• 16:11 The Advent of Code Community and Participation Scale
• 18:16 Sponsor Break: Morty
• 20:24 The Art of Crafting Coding Puzzles
• 25:52 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot
• 26:55 The Advent of Code Difficulty Curve
• 31:25 The Competitive Programming Community
• 31:29 Analyzing Leaderboard Times
• 32:03 Different Skill Sets in Coding
• 32:49 Speed Contest vs. Software Engineering
• 33:21 The Strategy of Speed Solvers
• 34:22 The Contrast Between Speed Solvers and Beginners
• 35:20 The Advent of Code Community
• 38:06 The Accessibility of Advent of Code
• 39:24 The Diversity of Programming Languages in Advent of Code
• 46:41 The Unexpected Audiences of Advent of Code
• 51:47 Creating Tools for Video Games
• 58:53 The Importance of Patreon Support
• 01:00:54 Hidden Easter Eggs in Advent of Code

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Advent of Code website
• About Eric Wastl
• YouTube Behind the Scenes

About Eric Wastl

X – @ericwastl

Hi! I’m Eric Wastl. I make Advent of Code. I hope you like it! I also made Vanilla JS, PHP Sadness, and lots of other things. You can find me on Twitter and GitHub. Advent of Code is an Advent calendar of small programming puzzles for a variety of skill sets and skill levels that can be solved in any programming language you like. People use them as interview prep, company training, university coursework, practice problems, a speed contest, or to challenge each other. You don’t need a computer science background to participate – just a little programming knowledge and some problem solving skills will get you pretty far. Nor do you need a fancy computer; every problem has a solution that completes in at most 15 seconds on ten-year-old hardware.

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