UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 21 MARCH 2019
Gaming enthusiasts will be given the opportunity to take part in a round-the-clock 44-hour project, which will see techie teams battle it out to create their very own video games.
Birmingham City University will be hosting a Game Jam event this weekend, which will task teams of students with producing a functioning computer game from scratch, in a weekend-long competition.
More than 40 students from the University’s Computer Games Technology course will take part in the challenge, and a secret theme will be revealed at the start of the event allowing students to think creatively to produce a game, which echoes the theme.
The event, which takes place between Friday 22 March and Sunday 24 March, will also run during the University’s Open Day (March 23), and allow visitors to drop-in and take part in the project to get hands-on experience of creating a computer game.
Judges will assess the final games on Sunday (March 24) with criteria including gameplay and accessibility.
Prizes will be given for the best products including specialised videogame ‘loot boxes’ and vouchers for games website Steam.
Carlo Harvey, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of Computer Games Technology, said: “Video games have been a popular pastime for people across the globe for decades, but right now we are seeing a new age for computer gaming.
“The fact that 15 million people each day watch other people stream their gameplay on Twitch shows the significant impact e-sports are now making.
“The industry is changing and the way people relate to video games is moving with it, so events like these are a real opportunity for students to test their skills and produce a real working product.
The University’s Open Day will run from 9am – 3pm on Saturday 23 March, with members of the public interested in studying on its computer games courses invited to join in part of the challenge and experience what a future career in the industry could look like.
For more information visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/opendays