5th Annual Otago Polytechnic Game Jam

The 5th annual high schools game jam took place at Otago Polytechnic from July 2nd-4th. This year, we had 33 students participate, coming from as far north as Oamaru and as far south as Balclutha, with most from Dunedin. Eleven IT and Design student volunteers, along with staff, supported the students throughout the three days.

The jam began with a quick icebreaker where everyone introduced themselves, followed by a group brainstorming activity where participants had to pitch a game idea using just three words.

Once we formed eight teams, the real fun started. The theme for this year's games was generated randomly using an app our student volunteers had built. The words were green, floating island and villain. There were also presentations from CODE (Centre of Digital Excellence), which sponsored the event, and Lesser Key Studios, a Dunedin and CODE-funded studio led by IT and Design graduates.

This was our biggest game jam yet, and we're already planning to make it even bigger next year. The event does exactly what we hoped. It brings together our IT and Design departments, connects us with industry, and most importantly, gives high school students a taste of what game design and development are like. Our student volunteers got valuable experience mentoring others and sharing the skills they've learned in our games pathways.

The response after the event has been fantastic. Many participants are now considering studying games.

Link to ODT article - https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/game-0