BY AARON RENFREE
For 24 hours teams of students were locked within the University’s Media Building. Tasked with creating a game based on the word rotting and the phrase from Peter Pan: “To die would be an awfully big adventure”, the students fought both time and each other to create the ultimate game. Add to this the inclusion of the wild card: a foot, and outcomes of the event took an unpredictable turn to say the least.
The event was organised by former student Sean Oxspring, a Game Jam veteran who has ran 10 of the events prior to running this one.
Believing that the Game Jam is for everyone and acts as a “Trial by fire”, Mr Oxspring also said that: “I feel sorry for any game students who don’t come along to these, because they are missing on a really vital and valuable experience to becoming a game developer in the future.”
Mr Oxspring further feels that hosting the Game Jam is a fantastic experience to put on a CV as “Organisational skills improve whole heartedly.”
Competitors similarly felt that the Game Jam benefited their CVs with it being, for many, their ever experience into the world of video game development.
After the 24 hours had passed the contestants were gathered to hear the results of the judging. With awards given out a plenty, key standouts included Team Jacob winning the most innovative award for a zombie dating simulator, Team Derek winning the prize for best use of theme and Team David & James winning best use of wildcard for their top down hellish maize game.