I could see several people huddled over computer screens through the rain-splattered window of 804RVA, a shared workspace along Broad Street.
I could see several people huddled over computer screens through the rain-splattered window of 804RVA, a shared workspace along Broad Street. It was a chilly Sunday night, which for most people would be spent doing homework or watching TV.
But a group of local RVA creatives were furiously finishing their newest creations.
Developers, graphic designers and people with no experience at all came together for an intense 48-hour video game making challenge, called a Game Jam. For the third year in a row, RVA Game Jams hosted one of the longest running and internationally known game jams called Ludum Dare.
Game jams are competitions where participants design and build games from scratch, usually with a time limit and sometimes, as is the case with Ludum Dare, based on a theme.
Jams help game developers, or wannabe game developers, get the ball rolling if they feel stuck or want to learn more skills.
Will Blanton, a game developer and founder of RVA Game Jams, was one of those people with the desire to make games but lacking in motivation.
“My life dream was to make video games and I’ve always had a really kind of shitty attitude about it,” Blanton said. “I always thought that programming was something that was just way out of reach or just for super smart people.”
After pursuing several other fields related to game development, Blanton said he bought a book about programming and action script, the language used in Flash, to tackle what he called the last frontier. He decided to try out his skills in Ludum Dare 32, where he made a game called Tiny Visitor.
“I gave it a shot even though I thought it was just so far beyond my reach and it ended up being one of the better games I created,” Blanton said. “It felt really great so I wanted to share that kind of experience with my friends. I felt like game jams was a perfect opportunity because you kind of, you don’t have an excuse to say well, this is something I just don’t know how to do.”
Blanton founded RVA Game Jams, and enlisted his friend Lauren Vincelli as the event coordinator. Vincelli said when they decided to pursue this venture they realized the next Ludum Dare event was only three months away. They worked really hard and successfully held their first event.
“People were really excited about it and were telling us like, I’ve always wanted to make a game and I’ve never made a game until this weekend and now I know I want to make games for my life,” Vincelli said. “And that was really rewarding to see creative people really finding a supportive community to help them do what they want.”
RVA Game Jams ran Ludum Dare 32 the weekend of April 17. The theme for this year was unconventional weapons, which was chosen by vote in the weeks prior to the event by participants all over the world.
Ludum Dare offers developers two options: they can enter the 48-hour competition, and be able to rate other players’ games, or they can participate in the challenge, which lasts for 72 hours. Whichever program you choose, everyone seems to come out of the event with something to be proud of.
“I think a big thing is how accessible it is,” said Momin Khan, a frequent participant in Ludum Dare and several other game jams. “To participate you only need two and a half days. You just take a weekend, even if you have a full time job, even if you’ve never touched games before.”
Khan and a few other students moved to Richmond after graduating from UVA and created SSRN Games. While that company eventually went under, the group of game jammers created a new game development group called Root 76.
“I would say game jams have single handedly defined my career,” said Khan.
He said if it weren’t for game jams, he’d be way more behind the other game developers in the industry because he’s only been making games for about 3 years.
For Ludum Dare 32, Khan created a game called Keyboard Tower Defense, an arcade style game using just your keyboard to zap enemies as they fall through your screen. There are multiple levels, power ups and bosses.
Blanton used inspiration from another game to create Bed Hogg, a virtual pillow fight also in an arcade style.
The group munched on pizza and played each other’s games, commending people on their ideas and making suggestions for future developments. After 48 hours of hard work, everyone received a round of applause and no one seemed disappointed.
All games were uploaded here to be played online.
