Thirteen students studying computer graphics and programming (CGP) at Missouri State University-West Plains recently participated in Global Game Jam 2019.
The event, in its 11th year, gives gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to put their creative skills to use and work together across the globe to develop prototype video, board or card games in a 48-hour period, according to information posted on the official Global Game Jam website. Organizers of the event hope the creators can then take their prototypes and eventually develop fully realized games.
According to Jacob Poulette, assistant professor of computer graphics and programming, a total of nine table top and digital games were developed by local participants during the jam Jan. 25-27.
“The games showed a wide range of creativity and design choices,” he said. “Some students barely went home the whole weekend, while others only had a few hours on a single day to work on their games due to work schedules and other commitments.
“We also had a good assortment of students, from first-year students who are just starting to program and create their first game ideas to second-year students who are in their last semester working on multi-semester games for their capstone projects,” he added.
Games available to play online
The games developed by the students were uploaded to the Global Game Jam website and are available for free to the public to download and play, Poulette added.
“Many of the students who participated are also in their CGP capstone course this semester, and we uploaded copies of their games from the event in class to an online digital distribution platform called Itch.io as a practice run for their final projects, which they will demo at this year’s Ozarks Gaming Convention (OzCon),” he explained.
This was the fourth year that Missouri State-West Plains served as a host site for Global Game Jam, and it was one of only two sites in Missouri, Poulette noted.
“This was our best attendance yet out of the four years that we have served as a game jam site. We were the 616th largest site out of 860 sites around the world, which is not bad as one of only two sites in the state,” he said.
In total, 46,861 gamers registered at 860 sites located in 113 countries, Poulette added.
For more information about the local Global Game Jam event and how to register for next year, contact Poulette at 417-255-7738 or email JacobPoulette@MissouriState.edu.
For more information about Global Game Jam or to play the games that were made, visit the Missouri State-West Plains jam site page.