The fourth annual Global Game Jam brought together game developers at the University of Regina, to race to make a video game from scratch in 48 hours.
The worldwide event gives developers, programmers, artists, coders and gamers quite the challenge. Ephraim Bilson was among the 50 people participating in the Queen City over the weekend.
“The first order of business was to design something so we were brainstorming ideas,” said Bilson. “I kind of lost track of the days. Hours blurred by, but really it was just putting it together.”
According to Kai Hutchence, one of the event’s organizers, it usually takes around six months to develop an independent video game. The event provides a challenge for all the participants, but also a chance to learn new skills.
“The skills they’re learning are really at the cutting edge of medical technology, or virtual reality and engineering,” said Hutchence.
But overall, Hutchence hopes that the event leads to further growth in technology and game development in Regina.
“I want us to really start building that community so that we can move forward and build this industry here as a permanent feature, and start building those better futures for our youth,” said Hutchence.
The challenge ended at three p.m. on Sunday afternoon, but all the completed games can be accessed on the Global Game Jam website anytime.
Based on a report by Stefanie Davis
