Title: The Great Warwick Game Jam

Department: Computer Science

Staff Lead: Alexander Dixon

Overview:

The Great Warwick Game Jam was aimed at encouraging and supporting students building games using industry-recognized tools and innovative techniques. The event was organised by Alex Dixon from the Department of Computer Science, in collaboration with Warwick Innovation, and Warwick Esports.

The Jam was a two-week event that took place during Weeks 3 to 5 of Term 2, it comprised several workshops, and hackathon style jam sessions, and culminated in a closing ceremony in the Esports centre.

Across the two-weeks, Warwick computing students, in teams or as individuals, came together to create games, learning from experienced game developers. It was an opportunity for them to innovate, create, and explore new ideas. They were also given an opportunity to win a prize that could help them to develop their idea.

Process:

The event began with an opening ceremony where games industry professionals discussed with students the value of a portfolio for a career, possible paths through the industry and the role of innovation in games. The second session provided an opportunity for the students to work together and get some early feedback from other jam participants as well as industry mentors. At the end of the Jam, a closing ceremony was held, which featured a brief address by an industry expert, an open showcase of the game entries, and culminated in a prize-giving ceremony following the judging process.

Outcomes:

Over the course of two weeks, with encouragement and support from academics, the university, and industry professionals, student teams or individuals created several games from scratch, gaining practical technical skills in video game design and development, innovation skills, and teamwork. The event also supported students in exploring further opportunities, including available funding routes to launch their game.

Best Overall Game	Technical Achievement Award	Excellence in Design Award
£200	£150	£150
Retroshift By Archie Mynott and Iwan Sherlock	Overthrow Synthetica By Brendan Bell and Anthony Leung	Journey into Bloodstone Dungeon By Rhys Hennessy and Peter Whiteley
“In this Asteroids-inspired entry, you play as a ship in the vast emptiness of space under attack by enemies of various shapes. Every so often, the game changes visual styles, changing the player's weapon and the enemy's movement.”	“Enter Neu Kong, a wasteland of greed, corruption and oppression. Society is ruled by few major corporations, with Synthetica being the all but official dictator of wider society. As the spearhead of the project to develop artificial human androids, they quickly rose to power. But as some of these androids have gained true sentience, they have shown a more explicit ruthless and violent side. You are part of the resistance: whose goal is to overthrow Synethetica! Avoid getting caught by officers or inquisitors as you play your part in the great rebellion: collect all of the data drives and deliver them to your informant and your part is done... for now. ”	“Journey into the Bloodstone Dungeon is a deckbuilding Roguelike, where you have to sacrifice your own vitality to best your opponents. Navigate through the map, play cards costing your stamina, but be sure not to spend it all, or you'll start losing HP instead!”

Evaluation:

The Great Warwick Game Jam has been able to tap into strong demand from the student body for more events that intersect creative industries and innovation.

Students have found a lot of value in the event, as it provided them with an opportunity to express themselves creatively while also testing and improving practical skills. The success of the event highlighted the need for more innovative and industry-relevant learning opportunities for students.

To ensure the continued success of the Great Warwick Game Jam, the organisers plan to continuously focus on expanding the program to include more events that intersect creative industries and innovation will help to meet the strong demand from the student body and provide more opportunities for students.

Additionally, the organisers may also seek to include more mentors from the creative industry in future iterations of the game jam. This will provide students with valuable insights and connections to the industry and help them to develop their skills and careers in game development.

Last but not least, according to the initial feedback received from participants, the organisers will prioritise enhancing publicity and transparently sharing the schedule in advance to attract a broader audience and ensure that students are adequately prepared to take part in the event.

Overall, the Great Warwick Game Jam has been a resounding success, and efforts to expand the program and provide additional support for students should be encouraged to ensure continued growth and success in the future.

Embedding:

The enterprise skills learned during a game jam are extremely transferrable and include creative problem solving, personal management, project architecture, system design and engineering, requirements analysis, design thinking and more. All these skills boost employability, not just in the games industry but in all sectors and could also be a foundation for the students to go off and explore self-employed opportunities. The organisers have already engaged with the Warwick Award team to accredit participation and are looking into ways to further build these skills into the curriculum.