Like a lot of my peers, I wasn’t sure what Global Game Jam (GGJ) was either. It wasn’t until I started working in the English Department that I learned about the event and turns out, it’s pretty cool! Global Game Jam is a weekend-long event where people from around the world— like literally around the globe, hence the name— create games, whether it’s a video game, a board game, etc. People with little to no experience with game design are highly encouraged to participate as the jam is a place of collaboration not competition. This year Stevenson welcomed high schoolers (with a legal guardian, of course) to participate.

Stevenson’s fourth annual Global Game Jam was held from Friday, January 31 to Sunday, February 2. On Friday night, this year’s theme was revealed . . . repair. Students could interpret that theme any way that they wanted in their games. After Friday night brainstorming, students worked on their games all day Saturday, and finished them Sunday before the showcase/game play.

Two high school students, Jai and Lauren, participated this year, coming Friday night prepared with a box of art supplies and smiles on their faces. Their team created the board game Gods of Recreation. The team was inspired by the idea of gods and the game Castle Defense. The goal is to “repair the world in your own image,” said the game’s writer Megan Ovungal.

One group designed a “relationship fixing game” called TSST. Fun fact: the name is the result of the designers’ combining their exes’ initials! The computer game takes you through scenes where you have to repair your romantic relationship. The team said that they wanted to add more components like texting but didn’t have enough time.

The last game I’d like to highlight is one designed by SU Math professor, Dr. Benjamin Wilson. His computer game is called Spaceship Repair where the goal is to collect the floating wrenches to repair your spaceship as it’s getting attacked by flying monsters.

Global Game Jam was so cool! You could see the friendships blooming and the passion simmering in the students as they were proud of what they were able to create in 48 hours. Seriously, that is an amazing feat! Before the actual game play portion of the event Sunday night, Computer Information Systems Professor Jakie Brown urged students to never stop creating because creativity changes the world.

Check out and play the games:

https://globalgamejam.org/2020/jam-sites/stevenson-university/games

See our social media for more pictures and videos:

https://www.facebook.com/StevensonEnglishDept/

https://www.instagram.com/su_english1947/