MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Ukie has partnered up with Alzheimer’s Research UK to once again host a game jam that challenges video game developers and media to swap roles, with the latter tasked with making games, and the former required to report upon them in the gaming press.
The jam takes place from Friday, September 27th to Sunday, September 29th, coinciding with World Alzheimer’s Month. Just like the first Journo/Dev swap in 2012, the press teams will be supported by a team of game development students and mentors when given a short window of time to make a game that asks players to “think about the reality of dementia, and the opportunity to overcome it through research”. A panel of judges will then play all the games, and choose their favourite to be crowned the winner.
“We’re really excited to be involved in the 2019 Journo Dev Swap, and we’re proud to be setting the theme of this year’s jam,” said Tim Parry, director of partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “We hope the theme will prove evocative for the teams; there’s certainly a lot of directions a game could take with the idea we have. For the charity, we’re in the business of protecting the brain, and with dementia now the leading cause of death in the UK, the need to make breakthroughs has never been more acute.
“The gaming sector has infinite reserves of creativity and innovation, and as an R&D focused organisation, we’re excited to begin to work with the industry to see what’s possible.”
“The original Journo/Dev Swap game jam has always been remembered warmly, and is talked about often,” added Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE. “We’re delighted to host it again, and we can’t wait to see how our intrepid developers and press do. We’re also delighted to help Alzheimer’s Research UK continue to further their relationship with the millions of people who play games, and the industry itself. We look forward to welcoming some very talent[ed] game developers, and press from the gaming media, national radio and beyond.”
