By UHI Moray
28 March 2024
Moray Game Jam returned for its seventh year in March with teams from across Scotland creating board and video games to the theme of Up Up and Away.
The annual game jam which started in 2014 by UHI Moray aims brings together gaming enthusiasts from across the country, industry leaders and educators for 48-hours of creativity with years event seeing 16 teams compete for not only the Judges Choice but to be selected as the People’s Choice.
The Jam started at 12noon on Friday 15th March with the announcement of the theme given by UHI Moray Principal – David Patterson. Teams were also introduced to the judges panel – formed of members from various fields within the gaming industry- who spoke to, supported, and mentored the teams throughout the weekend. The 2024 judges were:
- Laura Cress Gaming and Technology Journalist and Streamer
- Andrew Mulholland Director of Hunted Cow Games
- Martin Thomas CTO at Code Wizards
- Brian Baglow the Founder the Director of Scottish Games Network and Scottish Games Week
- Christopher Acornley, Computing Lecturer at UHI Perth
Friday also saw a National Games Strategy workshop take place to gather feedback and thoughts from those within the games industry about the new Government initiative.
Saturday the competition continued with teams busy developing their games while industry veterans hosted a series of workshops welcoming over 20 people:
- An Introduction to 3D Modelling using Blender with Finlay MacDonald, Developer at Code Wizards
- How your game jam can make you a millionaire with Brian Baglow, Founder of Scottish Games Network and Scottish Games Week
- Rules are Fun with Gary Groves an AI researcher at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
A much-loved highlight of the event Pizza night provided the teams a much-needed break and catch up on Saturday night before they prepared for the final 17 hours of the jam.
Sunday brought the end of the competition with judging taking place throughout the morning and into the afternoon during the Gaming Playground. The playground which is open to the public was attended by apporx.150 people with many families having the chance to test out the games and vote for their People Choice Award with the judges and Richard Lochhead – Minister of Small Business, Trade and Innovation- presenting the winners with their awards.
Winners included first timers and UHI Moray students, The Waffle Crew and Game Jam veterans Openly Game Men.
The Waffle Crew whose Board Game Mission Launch captured the publics heart earned them the coveted Board Games People’s Choice were delighted with their win stating “The gaming playground was also very rewarding, we had lots of kids come to play our game and they were all enjoying it so much. It felt nice that all our hard work was being appreciated.”
Openly Game Men saw double success winning their first Video Game win and second Video Game People’s Choice Award. Michael Brown one of two programmers for the team spoke highly of Moray Game Jam stating “Moray Game Jam is an event I look forward to every year; it is always well-managed, and a lot of effort is put into making sure those who take part are well looked after. The event also offers talks, workshops and valuable networking opportunities.”
A full list of the winners are:
• Board Game Winners: No Loading Required
• Video Game Winners and People’s Choice: Openly Game Men
• Board Game Runner-Up: ENT Games
• Video Game Runner-Up: Frozen Well
• Board Game People’s Choice: The Waffle Crew
You can learn more about Moray Game Jam and keep an eye on next years dates at www.moraygamejam.com
