SwkGDC Game Jam sees success third year in a row

You are currently viewing SwkGDC Game Jam sees success third year in a row

KUCHING, 19 AUGUST 2024 – The Sarawak Game Developer’s Community (SwkGDC) concluded its third annual SwkGDC Game Jam, held from 9 to 11 August recently at TEGAS Digital Village.

The three-day programme included technical workshops covering topics like game design; art for games; and Unity and Unreal Engine development. The main event was a ‘hackathon’ where 49 participants split into teams to develop digital video game prototypes in less than 48 hours.

This year’s game jam was supported by TEGAS Digital Village, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Microsoft Xbox, and GamesHQ Malaysia.

The theme of the game jam was ‘Motion’ and participants sought help and guidance from a roster of industry mentors hailing from across Malaysia. The studios included Moredoor Interactive, Kloena Digital, Rez Studios, Twilight Foundry Games, and Metronomik.

On the final day, presentations and playtesting sessions were open for the public to attend. Eleven teams presented their prototypes to a public crowd and a panel of judges, who ranked each game and picked three winning teams. The panel of six judges comprised representatives from TEGAS Digital Village, SDEC, Microsoft Xbox, two game jam mentors, and a local developer, Nerdook Productions.

The three winning games are ‘Chicken Express’ by BeeBeeBoopBoop, ‘Lightspeed’ by KentangSoft, and ‘Specter Sight’ by The Holiday.

The winning teams will have the opportunity to showcase at Level Up PLAY hosted by MDEC, happening from 13 to 15 September 2024 at KLCC. Meanwhile, SDEC will be sponsoring the teams’ travel and accommodation costs, and sponsoring free conference passes to Level Up KL happening from 1 to 3 October 2024.

This year’s game jam attracted more than 70 registrations, including students, enthusiasts, and working professionals from all over Malaysia. Before ending the 3-day programme with a playtesting session, participants and attendees were treated to an inspiring sharing session by Jun Shen Chia, from the Xbox Global Expansion team for Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Group photo of all the SwkGDC Game Jam participants and judges.

Reflecting on the event, Shen Chia said that the SarawakGDC was an incredible experience for Xbox to participate in, as he had the opportunity to meet passionate and talented students and early-in-career developers.

“Xbox is highly supportive of events such as these, as it aligns very well with our mission to empower and elevate developers that want to share their creativity with the world.

I was impressed by the support from institutions like TEGAS and SDEC, and have no doubts that the Sarawak game development ecosystem will thrive thanks to such close collaboration between community leaders like CtrlD Studio, and the local government agencies. I can’t wait to see where SarawakGDC and the game developer community in Sarawak goes next,” he said.

All prototypes submitted to the SwkGDC Game Jam can be played for free at https://itch.io/jam/swkgdc-game-jam-2024/entries.