BADAS Students Took on The FIEA Collegiate Game Jam
Written by: Layla Dubreucq
In a whirlwind of creativity, three teams of students from the Digital Worlds Institute traveled to Orlando on January 12th to participate in the first ever FIEA Collegiate Game Jam. Amidst the fierce competition, these students utilized their skills and academic learning to develop a video game in just 48 hours.
The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) is the University of Central Florida’s master’s degree program in interactive entertainment. During this weekend, the UCF Downtown at Creative Village opened its doors to students, alumni, and professionals across the state of Florida.
Comprised of four members, a total of 16 undergraduate and 12 graduate/professional teams participated in an attempt to create the best video game in the state. Teams were given just 48 hours to complete their games, following the theme announced on the first day, ‘sunshine.’
Representing the Digital Worlds Institute were three teams: Potato Fury, Team Tart, and UF Gator VR.
Potato Fury was composed of BADAS students Morgan Schafer, Juno Strunk, Mark D’Antonio, and Evan Learn. Embracing the theme, the team designed a video game with the mythological Sun God Apollo at its core. Players of the game were tasked with escaping Apollo’s Garden solely using beams of sunlight to distract him. “Our team had a ton of fun competing and we learned a lot,” said Schafer.
Following the theme of ‘sunshine,’ the UF Gator VR team created an Egyptian mythology-based VR game. Players can step into the role of Horus on Ra’s sun barge navigating the Nile. Armed with a staff, players use the sun’s power to fend off Nile crocodiles. The challenge lies in bouncing the ray of light off mirrors and rocks to shield Ra from the attacking crocodiles, offering a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
“The game jam was a great experience to start the semester by networking with other developers and another project for our portfolios,” said Miles Haase, President of the Gator VR Club.
By midafternoon on January 14th, all teams brought their game development to a halt. Anticipation built as teams uploaded brief 30-second gameplay videos of their final creations, eagerly awaiting judgment and the chance to win exciting prizes — Nintendo Switch Lites, Universal Orlando gift cards, and Best Buy gift cards.
Video games developed by teams within the professional and graduate division of the competition were judged by Digital World’s Senior Lecturer Nick Heitzman. Accompanied by professors representing Florida Polytechnic University, this team of judges worked meticulously to review a dozen different games created by graduate students and professionals working in the video game, film, and related technology industries.
“It was exciting to see our UF game developers creating side-by-side with other top Florida schools and local game industry professionals,” Heitzman said. “It is my hope that this was the start of something amazing, and we have UF game dev teams at the FIEA Game Jam every year going forward.”
View Potato Fury’s experience at the FIEA Collegiate Game Jam here.
