“The turnout was fantastic, including new people from the greater Las Cruces area, a few local 3D artists and programmers,” Brown said. “We were able to break out into four teams to create four very different games.”
Game Jam is a nonprofit volunteer-run event with a single stated goal: to bring together people all over the world to have a great time making innovative games.
The theme for this year’s Game Jam was, “Home, what does it mean to you?” The teams took the theme in very diverse directions.
First, there is a 3D platformer game starring a kangaroo and her little joey who lives in her pouch (home). The joey is required to come out and solve puzzles but always returns to his pouch to feel safe, which puts a time limit on the puzzles.
Second, a community building game was created that requires players to build up a town after the apocalypse. The player has to balance out the town’s needs as well as try to save as many people as possible. If the player allows too many people in too quickly, for example, the town can’t provide for them and it crumbles.
Third, a game was created starring a loveable pup who has lost his way home. The pup must survive the forest and follow his owner’s scent until he makes it back to the warm fireplace in the cabin. In addition to finding the owner’s scent, the game requires players to manage the pup’s thirst and hunger, all the while avoiding bears and skunks.
The last game produced during the jam is a take on Temple Run-type games and is being designed for mobile devices. This game tasks the player with guiding an RV as it barrels down a hill. The player must avoid obstacles and make it safely to the end. Why is the RV barreling down the hill you ask? Easy, the RV took a wrong turn while touring the United States!
