IIE-Vega Durban students get creative at Ludum Dare
The first, second and third year students worked individually and in teams to create their game, with lecturers on hand to guide and support them during the process. This year's event was held under the theme 'Depths', and formed part of the second and third year students' academic assessment – offering real world experience in teamwork, creativity, time pressure and problem solving.
First year student and solo entrant, Asher Gray, who created Animalia Memories, a PlayStation 1 style horror and walking simulator, said he enjoyed the challenge. 'I've been making game demos since I was 11 years old. This is my first game jam and my first completed game project ever. Being a one man band meant I had to do everything – animation, modelling, texturing, coding, programming. It was intense, but fun,' said Gray.
Aso Read: Students make a colourful impact
His excitement was shared by third year IIE-Vega Durban students Daniel Dennison, Rebecca Goodall, Raees Amla and Njabulo Zikhali, who created 'Rock Bottom' – a fast-paced adventure about a dwarf fighting his way down a mineshaft to retrieve his lost pickaxe. Using their experience from previous entry to game jam, the group went for something 'simple' and innovative.
'We've done game jams before, so we've learnt to go for something short, sweet and simple because of the time limit. We included humour because it always goes down well and increases game play. We almost broke into the top 100 entries in the humour category. Ludum Dare participants rate each other's games out of five stars in the categories: fun, innovation, theme, graphics, mood and humour,' said Dennison.
Ludum Dare is one of the world's largest and longest running game development events. It has two formats: the Compo (a 48-hour solo challenge) and the Jam (a 72-hour team event). Participants retain full rights to their creations, and after the event they rate each other's games over three weeks to determine the winners. The winners do not receive actual prizes.
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