The first thing GitHub conference badges should probably add is a QR code

GitHub’s official account asked on X for new things to do with the #GitHubUniverse badge and casually dropped a repo for a 3D Maze app. The badge is the conference credential and also a small piece of hardware you can write apps for. In the official video, someone holds a card printed with a purple cat avatar and the GitHub wordmark, while “And you guys,” floats on the screen.

The official entry point is ashleywolf’s badge-apps repo, where you can add the 3D Maze and keep adding other apps. The comments quickly split into two camps: those who want to play games and those who want to solve the awkwardness at the venue.

Jeff Bruchado’s reply was very practical: if the badge can display a QR code, that feature should be first. Spelling out a GitHub handle over venue noise never works. That judgment is closer to the badge’s core job than mini-games are. A conference badge first needs to help people be recognized, scanned, and remembered—and only then be fun.

Kai said the 3D maze is an instant icebreaker. Studio1HQ was surprised that badges are now getting mini-games. Taken together, the two replies show that the badge’s entertainment value is already established, but it still can’t get around identity exchange.

Nick Taylor finished and open-sourced an old-school Zelda-style game; the repo is pomerium-quest-badge. In his tweet he mentions Pomerium and thanks syntaxfm for the USB-C cable that made the hack possible. In the photo, a small device with a screen and buttons hangs below the badge; it has a clear plastic shell, and the screen shows pixelated grass, trees, and a character.

Nick Taylor’s full tweet and repo links are here: https://x.com/nickytonline/status/2115524041914392909 , https://github.com/nickytonline/pomerium-quest-badge . Another person, Chilly, plans to port a stripped-down version of the Artillery game to the badge.

These apps all point to the same question: what should the badge solve first? QR codes handle identity exchange, the maze handles icebreaking, and Zelda-style games handle showing off and fun. GitHub’s official 3D Maze repo is already open, and Nick Taylor’s game is open source too. The badge hasn’t even arrived at the venue yet, and the apps are already lining up.