What does a statue, a town in Kentucky, and the French Revolution have in common? Game Jam!

Last week in the Eldon Building the 18th Annual UoP Game Jam took place, with 80+ game developers split into 24 teams and attempting to make computer games from scratch in the space of a week.

Participants included UoP students and staff, as well as alumni and two teams of guests from Fareham College.

Teams were required to take inspiration from one of three random Wikipedia articles which were selected at the beginning of the week:

• Dog Trot, Kentucky
• The Oxford History of the French Revolution
• Bust of Edwin B. Hay

On Friday the (mostly!) finished games were showcased for the public to play, followed by a hybrid awards ceremony in a virtual studio streamed online using the Smart Stage in CCIXR. Awards were available in a number of voted categories, such as Best Looking Game, Best Design, and People's Choice. A panel of visiting industry judges was also on hand to give recognition to the most ambitious and highest achieving efforts of the week.

About Game Jam

The UoP Game Jam has been a perennial co-curricular fixture in the CCI calendar, with a conservative estimate of more than 350 games having been made over the years by many ragtag groups of daring developers.

Dr Neil Dansey, Programme Area Lead for Games in CCI, said: "It's testament to the dedication and passion of the students and staff, as well as the keen engagement of our industry colleagues and alumni, that the Game Jam has endured through the many challenges we've faced in recent years, locally and globally. Long may it continue!"