Game Jam 2018
London Metropolitan University is one of thousands to host the Global Game Jam competition.
Date: 1 February 2018
Each year, London Metropolitan University is one of thousands of organisations to host the annual Global Game Jam competition.
Held at the Accelerator, London Met’s business incubator, the two day competition challenges students to design, develop, create, test and make a new game in just 48 hours. The event ran from 26-28 January 2018.
The theme is kept secret each year and is only announced on the first day of the competition. This year’s theme was ‘Transmission’ and participants were then tasked to develop and create a game around this theme.
Fiona French, course leader for Computer Games Programming BSc, who coordinates the event for London Met, said: "I always look forward to helping host the annual Global Game Jam event. It's a highlight of the calendar, where we see a diverse crowd of developers and students collaborate over the weekend to create fresh and original games. The atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed.
"This year, one of my favourite games was 'Codeface,' a great party ice-breaker that involved finding matching emoticons on other people's phones; 'Boundless' explored existential notions of time and space; 'Free of charge' featured a charming collection of robots designed by some of our graduates; 'Powerphrasing' played with the mechanics of election rigging and media manipulation; 'The Last Voyage' required players to hop satellite signals back to earth; 'Tile Escape' was a cooperative virtual escape room experience while 'Transmissions Inc’ simulated how long players could survive in a frenzied Slack workspace.
"I'm always thrilled by the wonderful ideas and awed by the amount of dedication and energy that jammers put into the event. I'm delighted to have been working once again with André Smith the Community Manager at Accelerator, who always makes us feel very welcome and provides great technical support."
Tom Carr, a second year Games, Modelling, Animation and Effects BSc student, who took part in the Jam, said: "The weekend was enthusiastic and full of creativeness and collectiveness that was friendly and welcoming in a sharing of ideas and contributions.
"Making something with others, was also good fun."