University of Westminster students have taken part in a 48-hour intensive gaming development session during this year’s Global Game Jam, the world’s largest game creation event.
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) saw thousands of participants from over 100 countries take part in a range of games in 48 hours. Westminster threw themselves into the fun, with the Computer Games Development BSc Honours course running a weekend long event for students to get involved and be part of the gaming community.
GGJ is the world's largest game creation event that takes place around the globe and boasts tens of thousands of participants, or jammers, at hundreds of physical and virtual sites in over one hundred countries around the world. Westminster teams participated this year in a hybrid version during an intensive weekend between 26-28 February to develop their prototypes.
This year 17 Computer Game Development BSc Honours students participated in multiple teams across all years. To start the weekend, they gathered to hear a short keynote speech which offered vital advice for the budding game developers and revealed this year’s theme which was Make me Laugh. Each participant then got to work to create their games before Sunday afternoon.
As well as bringing people together, the Jam gives people the chance to explore their creativity and learn vital skills needed for game development, programming, design, narrative explorations and artistic expression. The key goal of the GGJ is to keep the world connected – giving people the opportunity to express themselves in endless ways using the universal language of video games.
Eidrian Gospodinov, one of the students involved, said: “Participating in the Game Jam and utilising the skills I have acquired during my time at Westminster helped me prove my capabilities and provided insight into what it is like to work on a team. The team possessed a diverse skill set, enabling us to learn from each other. It was a great experience creating a game in such a short amount of time. We plan to use this game as a template, expanding its content, incorporating additional features and mechanics to enhance its overall quality and enjoyment.”
Another student, Nikolaos Ntouretsenski, added: “For my second time at the Global Game Jam, I expected things to go a certain way. But, as it often happens, it didn't turn out as I thought it would. Our team was much bigger than I was comfortable with. Still, getting pushed out of your comfort zone is part of life, right? Working with such a big team was new to me and turned out to be pretty challenging. I believe such events help to push students out of boundaries and face challenges of real-world experiences.”
Talking about the Games Jam, Markos Mentzelopoulos, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the Games Development BSc course, added: “Participating in a Games Jam is a great experience for any Games, Computer Science or Creative student as it challenges them to work creatively and collaboratively under pressure. A Jam is a positive experience and great way to demonstrate to a perspective employer your ability to work to a short deadline as part of a team. It also makes this Game Jam an excellent opportunity for newcomers and experienced jammers to build and share awesome games with their friends.”
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