Flying pancakes, 80's throwback trivia and a sassy waitress were themes among the entries in Moore's first-ever Game Jam, held November 7 in The Galleries at Moore.
The event preceeded Moore's annual Game Changers: Women in Animation and Games panel discussion November 8. Students had 48 hours to design the ultimate game.
Three games were entered in to the inaugural competition. "Breakfast Stack," in which players stacked pancakes and caught toppings for points, was designed by seniors Judie Thai and Michele O'Brien. The board game "Black Market" was conceived by first-year students Kayla Marable, Devyn Jackson and Marisa Johnson, and involved players collecting cards with the highest number of "rarity" points. "Lotta's Diner" was made by senior Celeste Cottrell, and featured a waitress named Ethel taking food orders. The students vied for a trophy -- the "Golden Game Controller" necklace made from a Nintendo 64 game controller, as well as a future pizza party.
Guest judges played the games earlier in the day to determine a winner. "Breakfast Stack" and "Black Market" tied for first, with "Lotta's Diner" getting third prize of animation books and figurines. The teams each received a golden game controller necklace.
"We finished it at 3 o'clock in the morning," said Jackson of "Black Market." "It was pretty exhilarating when we got it done," Marable said.
Students attending the Game Jam were encouraged to "BYOVG" -- bring your own video game, but some went old school and played Twister. They also enjoyed pizza while they played.
Game Changers, presented by the Animation & Game Arts department, will be held from 7 – 8 pm in Moore’s Graham Auditorium, with a reception to follow from 8 – 9 pm. The moderator is Lauren Brown of EA Mobile. Panelists include Rachel Sima of PHL Collective, Shayla Hall of Floyd County Productions and Zoe Smith of QC Games. They will discuss their creative process, careers and how they are effecting change in the industry.
