Event co-founder Will Luton says event will be back 'bigger' and 'improved'; UKIE 'would love to do this again'

JournoDevSwap: UKIE dev-press swap confirmed to return next year

[For their third challenge, our developer-cum-journalists were tasked with uncovering a news scoop from the game jam – You can find all the JournoDevSwap articles here.]

The UKIE “48-Hour JournoDevSwap” game jam will be back next year, event co-founders Will Luton and Dr. Jo Twist today confirmed.

The event sees journalists-turned-developers teamed up with tech-savvy students to create a game in just 48 hours, and is reported on throughout by game-developers-turned-journalists.

UK Interactive Entertainment CEO Dr. Jo Twist said: “This has been an incredible experience for everyone involved and we are so happy it has been such a positive, creative atmosphere. We would love to do this again.”

Luton, CEO of game consulting firm Doctor Monolith, said: “It’s been really positive. I tried not to have any expectations of it, as it’s a big experiment – but I’m really happy.”

The event was originally created to give journalists and game developers insight into each other’s roles, to better help understanding on both sides.

Twist said: “The Derby Students have done a brilliant job, the developers have had their eyes opened to different kinds of deadlines and the journalists have been able to get their hands dirty and have seen how hard is actually is.”

Game Programming Student Luc Shelton, who attended this year’s event said: “It’s been a really great event, I’ve had the chance to meet new people and improve my coding – it’s really been useful.”

Twist added: “The stories and comments coming from the teams are very revealing and honest and we hope to use some video stories from the weekend for the Video Games Ambassadors to take into schools so they can inspire the next generation of game makers, as well use them as part of the Next Gen Skills campaign work to show decision makers how everyone can play a part in making games."

You can keep up to date with all the news stories/interviews/blogs/previews/reviews as they come in on the JournoDevSwap tag.

You can also keep up with the latest goings on through Twitter at hashtag #JournoDevSwap – As well as viewing the latest images and videos on http://journodevswap.tumblr.com

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