Game Start
It took participants two weeks to develop their games, but hosting the event took months of preparation. Students have the opportunity to participate in webinars hosted by experts in a variety of fields, including esports management, environmental criticism, oceanography, and marine science, which explore the social impact of environmental games and how to make those games purposeful. I learned how to design.
One of the issues highlighted during the webinar and throughout the competition was the need for integration in game development. Siders said that while it is important to integrate different perspectives to create video games that address climate change, the various disciplines involved in game development are too often siloed. Ta.
The emphasis on integration encouraged participants to take an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, as was the case with UD's winning team.
“This was the first time I really participated in a game jam, and I really appreciate how much my team members helped me and talked to me,” Nguyen said. “They’ve hosted game jams before because they’re computer science majors, but I’m art-based.”
Participants brought their talents to the table.
“They worked really hard,” said Bennett, a senior computer science major. “Mikey worked on the different waves, Terran worked on all the different menus, and Kori did all the voice work and modeling. Ziyi was new, but we taught him everything we knew. I did.”
