Indie Game Jam Event Round Up

Last weekend, that is the 27th-28th of August, we got to be a part of something quite spectacular, The Indie Game Jame. A competition where game developers were to make a game around a given theme within a 24 hour time limit. Now this isn’t your regular competition where people are biting each other’s heads off to get in front. This event was more casual than our office’s dress code (and I wear shorts to work). Teams were encouraged to interact with each other, share ideas and even help competitors if they so wished. The aim for the 24 hour long marathon was simple -create a kickass playable prototype based on the themes announced on the spot. The winner gets INR 40,000 on the spot and additional funding support to complete the game.

Before the event kicked off, Piyush and Reetesh from G2A showcased some of their company’s services that they offered to budding Indie developers. Then Chirag from Game Labs took the floor, announced the theme and started the 24 hour countdown.

As mentioned before, the event wasn’t a cut throat type event. Whenever a member of any team (or the entire team for that matter) needed a break, they could just head on over to the PS4 which had games like WWE 2K16, Rocket League, Mortal Kombat XL and UEFA Euro 2016 Pro Evolution Soccer. They also had the option of checking out the new No Man’s Sky on a gaming rig, backed with a RX 480 graphic card. If neither of these pleased them, they had access to a full-fledged coffee machine which  5 types of coffee. And free food. Can one really ask for more?

The event saw some really young developers, like Mukul Negi. This kid is just 14 years old and already making games and taking part in such events, which is something that really impressed me. At his age I used a computer for just one thing…….checking e-mail.

The event took place in this beautiful set up known as The Founder’s Cafe in Okhla. The collaborative work space acts as India’s first game developer incubator. The ambiance in the place is chill that you can easily mistake it for a restaurant, maybe it was because of the free coffee?

By the end of the even we had ourselves a winner. Team T13 had bagged first place with their prototype. As a side note, T13 is their house number.

Guess who walked home 40k rupees richer?

The event went off pretty well and as planned. It was great meeting all the developers, play games, eat food and drink A LOT of coffee. Here are a bunch of pictures of the event in case you missed it.