Gaming and Animation Department Participates in Annual Game Jam

The Oklahoma Christian University gaming and animation department participated in its fourth Global Game Jam on Feb. 4 and 5.

Game Jam is an annual event in which  individuals from around the world create a video game in 48 hours. This year’s theme was “Roots.”

Jacob Touchstone, a gaming and animation professor, said Game Jam is a boost in morale and camaraderie for the students at OC.

“The students are always excited in the weeks leading up to the event, and the smiles and excitement I see on their faces when they present their games is a huge reward for me personally,” Touchstone said. “Hopefully, one of our teams will win the global event, but to me, they’re all winners.”

Touchstone said this year’s Game Jam was the greatest one yet. 

“It went extremely well! We had 41 participants, including current students and returning alumni,” Touchstone said. “They collaborated to create a total of eight semi-functional games. This was our biggest jam to date.”

Oklahoma Christian produced a total of eight games: “Corpse Keeper,” “Myrtle,” “Root Stew,” “The Garden,” “The Lost City,” “Trouble Found Me,” “Tuka” and “Visions.”

Aubrey Partin and Jade McCrory produced a game called “The Garden,” a game based on an animal who becomes threatened by a parasite. 

“Our game is a work-in-progress demo in which a young pangolin discovers his way of life is threatened by parasites infecting the tree in which he lives,” McCrory said. “He must travel into the tree’s roots and beyond to save it,”

According to Partin, the game was inspired by nature, echoing the weekend’s theme “Roots.” 

“In our game, you play as a character who travels around the roots of a tree, which I thought was a fun idea,” Partin said.

Touchstone said the purpose of this program is to help students use what they have studied in their classes. 

“The purpose of this program is to get students to collaborate and apply what they have learned in the gaming & animation and computer science courses,” Touchstone said. “We also want the students to understand what it’s like to work under pressure and how to manage a team project with unexpected outcomes.”. 

McCrory said she was impacted by the program by rediscovering her love for 2D art while designing the background art for the game. 

“The program made me realize how much I enjoy doing 2D art,” Jade said. ”Now, I want to focus my major more on the artistic side.”

Partin said she was challenged by the time constraints and productivity pressures.

“It was difficult to finish everything I wanted to do on time. I was in charge of the enemies’ animations, as well as general creature designs. I had to balance coloring and sketching while also talking to my team,” Partinsaid.

Touchstone thanked the IGDA team for their excellent organization of the event.

“They were helpful in getting everything set up and recruiting participants and they used the proceeds from multiple fundraising events to purchase food, snacks, and equipment,” Touchstone said. 

Follow the link for more information about the Global Game Jam.