Texas A&M University Launches 48-Hour Game Jam

The Learning Interactive Visualization Experience Lab at Texas A&M University's Department of Visualization is hosting its second annual 48-hour video game building competition, or "game jam."

This year's game jam, dubbed "Chillenium," will take place on October 23 to 25, 2015 in the Texas A&M Student Recreation Center. Individuals or teams of up to four members from universities across the United States are invited to participate. The entry fee is $15 per participant.

The competition will open at 5:00 p.m. on October 23 with the introduction of the game jam theme. Participants will have until 5:00 p.m. on October 25 to create one or more desktop video games using the software of their choice. Industry professionals will be on hand through the event to provide game development advice and networking opportunities.

After the competition closes, judges will play and score the games based on innovation, quality and completeness in the categories of programming, art, design and sound. Judges will include professional game developers, event sponsors and a select group of young gamers.

The three highest scoring teams and the teams with the highest individual scores in each category will receive trophies and prizes such as licenses to game production software.

The team at the Learning Interactive Visualization Experience Lab created the game jam to encourage game developers to learn and have fun. "Game Jams are a way for game designers, artists, programmers and enthusiasts to learn more about games and game production, explore new ideas or concepts, or just have a blast making games," said André Thomas, a lecturer in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M, in a prepared statement.

Further information about this year's Texas A&M game jam can be found on the Chillennium site.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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