Case study
Camel City Game Jam
A two-school event grew into a five-district game jam where students build alongside industry developers and college programs.
- My role
- Founder, and board chair for its first three years. Event design and marketing, partner outreach, fundraising.
- Made by
- Student teams from five districts, with volunteers, college representatives and industry developers
- Years
- 2023 to present
Close to300
attendees a year
At a glance
- 5 districts competing
- 18 hours to build a game, with no internet
The gap
From the start, I wanted to give students a real pathway into game development careers. That pathway needs a network. Our students already had the foundation to be outstanding developers, but they had no connection to industry and no connection to other programs.
What I built
Students compete in teams, side by side with other schools, to build a game in 18 hours over three days. There is no internet. Everything they build comes from the knowledge they bring in and the connections they make in the room.
Senior developers and college representatives stay in the room for the whole event. They give teams feedback on game flow, production management and player engagement as the games take shape.
The jam also includes an expo featuring colleges, local industry companies and nonprofits.
The event is run by Camel City Student Innovation, a nonprofit I originated, co-founded and chaired for three years.
As board chair, I raised the event's budget of just over $16,000 each year. Most of it feeds competitors, volunteers and developers for three days, and it flies developers in from across the US and Canada.
What they made
More than 100 students have taken part, and 60 have competed on teams over three years.
What changed
The jam started with two schools. It now draws five districts, colleges from around the state and senior developers from across North America. About 750 people have attended over three years.
Students support each other across school lines. It's normal to see a team helping a competitor team finish.
What lasted
Every year, 5 to 10 former competitors come back after graduation to volunteer. Two schools have built up their game design programs dramatically because of the event. Competitors stay in touch long after it ends, whatever school they represented.
One student's connection at the jam led to a recruiting interview with a AAA studio.