The first weekend of July was marked by a unique event at the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology (WFPiK) - the first-ever WFPiK Game Jam! The 48-hour creative gaming marathon was held as part of the 18th edition of the ANIMATOR International Animated Film Festival. The event was coordinated by Dr Joanna Pigulak and Dr Marcin Pigulak from the AMU Film, Media and Audiovisual Arts Institute.
Games, animations, and narrative enthusiasts gathered at Collegium Maius. A total of 10 teams worked diligently to code, prototype, animate, create graphics, and develop storylines for games interpreting this year's festival theme, “ROTAMINA - The Chemistry in Us.” The participants received guidance from industry experts who conducted masterclasses focused on creating indie games within a limited timeframe. Included were Dr. Bartosz Mazurkiewicz, a specialist in video game marketing communication, Maciej Stróżniak, a sound designer, and Bartosz Rakowski, the CEO of Atomic Jelly studio.
Eventually, 10 diverse projects were created, including eight playable prototypes, which were evaluated by an interdisciplinary jury composed of: Dr. Marcin Pigulak (games scientist and culture animator), Igor Legoń (gameplay designer at CD Projekt Red), Professor Łukasz Kaczmarek (psychologist and video games populariser) and Wojciech Siejak (art director and motion designer).
The grand prize was awarded to the Magne Studio team for their game, *We Did It, Alice*. In this game, players engage in a therapeutic vivisection of a young girl named Alice, the titular character. The game is notable for its responsible approach to the topic of therapy, as well as its playful elements and innovative design solutions. Honorable mentions respectively went to Laura & The Julias for their game CoMeet, focusing on the chemistry of human relationships through the use of the dating simulator genre, and to the team Nieustalona for their incredibly addictive and polished at the gameplay level game Guard of my veins, which draws on solutions characteristic of arcade games and transforms them in creative ways.
The winning entries can be reviewed here.
Thank you to all participants for 48 hours of intense creative work, filled with chemistry, excitement and fun!
Photo: Malwina Łubieńska
Source: Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology Website
