The Games Have Begun!

The STL site for the Global Game Jam 2012 has 70 people, about 10 different games, a multitude of cables taped to the floor, and seven empty Pointersaurs Pizza boxes (with five more pizzas on the way). We’re taking care of business.

As an onlooker, the scene is quite impressive. The amount of focus, teamwork, and communication is astounding. And the random tidbits of conversations overheard is hysterical:
“What sound does a scorpion make?”
“Huzzah!”
“Zombies, mummies, robots. Oh my!”
“When’s more pizza getting here?”

The UMSL Chancellor even stopped by before we got started. He admitted he didn’t really understand what we were there for, but was still impressed that so many people had shown up. Either way, his support granted him a free t-shirt.

These types of events also surprise me with the different types of people that come. We have professionals, amateurs, high schoolers, college students, “grown ups,” girlfriends that sit quietly in the corner to be supportive. We even have a father and son team. The kid is 7 years old and sure knows his way around audio equipment. Such a unique mix of people.

What I’m finding the most entertaining, is looking at the different groups and trying to guess what roles an individual is playing. The audio guys are the ones that are leaned back in their chairs looking the most relaxed. The designers are constantly amongst their groups or writing/drawing on the marker boards. Now the programmers and artists are pretty similar. They are both hunched over withe their faces very close to the screen. The difference is that the programmer has both hands on the keyboard and the artist has one hand on the mouse and the other on the keyboard.

So we’ve been working for about five hours now and it’s amazing how much some of the groups have gotten done. I can’t wait to see where everyone is this time tomorrow. Until then, more Pointersaurus Pizza just got here!

No comments to show