The Net Bar Hackathon Will Be Held in Grand Style in Hangzhou

葬AI葬AI·June 22, 2026

Gamers with serious addiction, this one's for you

"Calling all gaming addicts"

The first Internet Cafe Hackathon was a massive hit, and I've since concluded that renting out an entire internet cafe is the greatest event format on Earth. So we're doing more of them.

But we still owe an apology to everyone who came to the first Internet Cafe Hackathon: our second one is going to be even more unhinged, and you guys missed out.

Yes, as teased last time, the second Internet Cafe Hackathon is happening this weekend. This time we're taking it to Hangzhou, the heartland of UGC gaming, co-hosting with the great and glorious MuleRun (aka "Mule Run Fast") — an Agent product we've written about many times and a product we stan.

Still smoke-free. Still no child prodigies allowed (minors can't enter internet cafes). Still low-barrier, low-class, low-education. Still especially welcoming to people who'd rather game than sit through PowerPoints. Still recruiting jointly with gaming community 405 Gaming.

And for those of you who love making game demos, main sponsor MuleRun is providing full credits to all participants, so you can go absolutely ham building games. We dare you to try making a GTA with it.

But unlike last time, we've reworked and optimized every competition from the ground up. The whole event is more absurd. The prizes are bigger.

So to everyone who came to the first Internet Cafe Hackathon: sorry 😭

Here's our upgraded and iterated competition lineup ⬇️

01

Themed Game Demo Competition

Last time the theme was "Internet Cafe," and it produced a stunning array of work. One guy cranked out a 3D AI GTA in 30 hours, took home the grand prize Switch 2, and went back to his company with "God of 3D" appended to his name.

Another contestant made a competitive noodle-slurping-and-sucking game that was perfectly on-theme while also commanding every photographer's attention.

Someone else went so meta they built an internet cafe simulator, simulating the exact internet cafe where we held the last event.

The creativity was off the charts. Stitch all these together and you'd have an Internet Cafe Metaverse that would make Mark Zuckerberg kneel and confess his sins.

This time we're broadening our horizons and breaking out of the internet cafe into the wider world. The theme for game demos is: "Abstract." Yeah, that abstract.

Interpret it however you want — Mondrian, Picasso, or even Sun Xiaochuan. As long as you can argue your case and close the loop, and the cafe fills with mirthful energy, you're good.

I'm genuinely excited to see what you all cook up. If you top the Dog-Barking Simulator and Sister-in-Law Simulator from last time, I'll personally pay to promote your game and help make your gamedev dreams come true.

The competition duration remains 30 hours. If you use MuleRun or Tripo's 3D models during development, you'll win sponsor prizes.

Our current prize pool includes one Bambu Lab printer, one PS5, one Switch 2, and one DJI drone.

Quick plug: my friends at 405 Gaming are running an AI Gaming exhibition during ChinaJoy this year, gathering every project that claims to be an AI game to face the judgment of the masses. If you think your AI game can hang, or if you just want to get roasted, DM me to sign up.

This main competition is primarily for participants. For audience members, here are five other events you can register for ⬇️

02

AI Game Workshop

Sorry, we've become more knowledgeable 😭

The original mission of the Internet Cafe Hackathon was to lower the hype barrier for all of AI, letting low-barrier, low-class, low-education 3D culture dominate the AGI world.

But last time we discovered that some genuinely studious folks were rising above the clamor of team gaming and the funk of instant noodles, deeply engaging with our on-site AI Game Workshops.

So this time we've brought in more AI companies, including but not limited to: MuleRun, Tripo, Qingjiao Simulator, and Kotoko AI. They'll all be running workshops. Come learn, and remember to grab a stool on the first afternoon.

Or don't learn — just come game during this slot. But keep the "WTF YOUR MOM" to a lower volume this time.

03

Classic Gaming Gauntlet

Sorry, we've banned friendly interaction 😭

Last time we held a classic gaming tournament, and it turned out we couldn't even scrape together ten people who played League of Legends in the entire cafe. Everyone was too busy making games.

On reflection, internet cafes are dark forests — Hobbes's war of all against all. Esports doesn't need teammates. The Internet Cafe Hackathon doesn't need friendly interaction.

So we're still running traditional gaming competitions, but this time as 1v1 gauntlet matches. You're fighting for yourself alone. See carbon-based life? Attack.

We'll run DOTA, League of Legends, or CSGO depending on who's on-site. Winners get MuleRun-sponsored mechanical keyboards.

04

Internet Cafe Stay-Awake Marathon

At the first stay-awake marathon, six contestants made it to the very end, completing the full 30-hour competition with zero hospitalizations.

I wanted to raise the difficulty and extend the time to test physiological limits, but for safety reasons, the rules stay the same.

This time, while the venue isn't announced yet, I can responsibly tell you: there's a Class III hospital within 2 kilometers 👍

The person who stays awake the longest gets an Atour sleep pillow.

05

Internet Cafe Instant Noodle & West Lake Vinegar Fish Competition

Sorry, the food is even more delicious this time 😭

Last time we ran an instant noodle eating contest, and the instigator Wang Dengke trolled us. The man claimed he'd already eaten barbecue for lunch, so he only put down two cups of noodles. The champion was someone who'd been eating since the night before straight through to the next morning — they also competed in the stay-awake marathon. Turns out these two events synergize beautifully.

Another contestant, upon learning the previous champion only ate 6 cups, said "that's a bit low." We're expecting him to shock everyone with his performance.

The noodle competition returns as scheduled, and we're providing ample Ice Black Tea to all participants. Noodles just hit different with Ice Black Tea.

But we realized: noodles alone aren't yammy enough. So at the request of a Hangzhou founder, we're adding a West Lake Vinegar Fish competition.

His words: "West Lake vinegar fish is quality protein with sugar-oil compound — absolutely delicious. I can eat a whole fish for late-night snacks every time." He's performing by eating two fish on-site.

No prizes for this one. Purely for the addicts who genuinely love eating fish.

06

Streaming Competition

Sorry, this Internet Cafe Hackathon is even more clout-chaseable 😭

Yes, there's a hidden level to this event.

Since we're in Hangzhou, the city of livestreaming, we're heavily encouraging participants to stream — especially on Bilibili. Vertical cam face-cam sharing your experience, or coding streams, whatever works.

Last time we just put a phone on the front desk and got hundreds of thousands of views. This time with everyone streaming together, boosting each other in a human pyramid of hype, I can't even imagine how many accounts might blow up.

Anyone who streams on Bilibili for at least two hours gets their choice of a ¥150 Steam wallet card or a Bilibili annual membership. And if you don't play Steam or want Bilibili membership, and only play Delta Force and Honor of Kings, we can top up your Q Coins instead.

Bilibili is also sponsoring two streaming awards:

  1. Best Livestream Popularity: Highest concurrent viewers + bullet comments in a single day

  2. Best Bilibili Livestream: Even if your numbers aren't great, but you're creative and have strong showmanship.

Prizes are a DJI Osmo Action 5 and the latest DJI Osmo Pocket 4. But streaming empty shots will get you disqualified.

Event notes:

1. Like last time, our internet cafe has limited seats, priority goes to competitors. Actual coders are strongly encouraged to bring their own laptops.

2. Audience members coming for Workshops, noodles, or vinegar fish don't need to bring anything.

  1. We especially, warmly, sincerely welcome people who are purely here because they're addicted to gaming.

  2. To prevent a repeat of last time when a hacker in the cafe stole someone's account: every participant must bring their ID card, and must log out before leaving the cafe 😭

If you're interested, scan the QR code on the poster to register.

Time: 12:00 June 27 to 18:00 June 28

Location: Yuhang District, Hangzhou — disclosed after registration

Slots are first-come first-served, until full. Substack subscribers get some priority.

Thanks to MuleRun, Tripo AI (VAST), and Bilibili Live for their generous support.

Easter egg: Dao Ge and Hu Ge from Shenyang Street sent their blessings for our Internet Cafe Hackathon.

Hu Ge had to keep holding his phone toward crowds to nail "Everyone look at me, I'm announcing something," reshooting countless times until he got slightly depressed. Thanks Hu Ge.

Hoping our AI funeral events can come to Shenyang Street soon, inheriting the spirit of the Shamate Regimen leader and rebooting the Northeast Hackathon chronicles.

(Cover image generated by ChatGPT, text 100% human-written)

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