The Sarawak Game Developers Community concluded its second edition of the SwkGDC Game Jam that ran from 31 August to 2 September 2023. This year’s game jam was held in partnership with Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (TEGAS) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), providing aspiring local talents with access to industry mentors, a game design workshop, and attractive prizes for winning game prototypes.
The event was held at TEGAS Digital Village in Kuching, where more than 40 participants consisting of students, enthusiasts, and working adults gathered to face the challenge of building a digital game from scratch in 48 hours. Participants of the game jam came from across East Malaysia, with some travelling in from Sri Aman, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, and Sabah.
Participants first went through a 3-hour game design workshop on Day 1 hosted by Sophie Azlan, an award-winning game designer and lecturer from UOW Malaysia. After which, the theme of the game jam, “Impact”, was announced and participants got to work.
Throughout the jam, participants were able to seek help and guidance from a roster of industry mentors from CtrlD Studio, Rez Studios, Moredoor Interactive, Kloena Digital, Persona Theory Games, and UOW Malaysia. There was even a team of 4 primary school children from Tunku Putra-HELP School who joined in for the experience!
At the end of Day 3, a total of 9 teams presented their game prototypes to a panel of judges. The three winning teams that emerged were BamTo! for the Best Use of Theme category, TheDigiNomads for the Best Game Mechanics category, and Frog Hammer for the Most Memorable category.
Winners received free conference passes to the Malaysia Digital Content Festival (MYDCF) 2023 happening later this month, as well as mobility support from TEGAS to attend the festival. The winning teams will also have the opportunity to showcase their games at the event under the SwkGDC booth.
The game jam closed with a virtual sharing session from special guest Jun Shen Chia, who is part of the Xbox Global Expansion team for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Overall, the SwkGDC team and sponsors concluded this game jam as a success, and are looking forward to growing the local community and making the game jam a coveted annual event.
