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Pinoy whiz kids prove parents wrong about video games


In the realm of video games, the next frontier may be dreams. That is, if the grand prize winner of a prestigious game development competition is any indication. 

Dreamer, a puzzler about a sleepwalking child which interacts with his house through his dreams, bagged the top prize in Manila Game Jam 2014 @ Benilde over the weekend, on January 26.

The game was designed by Team Sir MoonSheep, composed of students from the De La Salle - College of St. Benilde's Game Design and Development and Multimedia Arts: 2D artist Cherish Princess Socro, 3D artist Jose Silverio Reynoso, programmer Dylius Jov Ouano, and GUI artist/designer Mark Kevin Espiritu.

These kids are proving parents wrong about video games.

Changing parents' misconceptions

Sadly for most parents, video games are the stuff of nightmares, conjuring thoughts of squandered skills, wasted time, and violent tendencies. But the hundreds 
of student and professional game developers who took part in the Manila Game Jam 2014 @ Benilde beg to differ.

The 48-hour videogame creation marathon, held at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Taft Campus in Manila, aims to show the public that not only is game development a highly creative field, it can also be lucrative.

Rookie game jam judge Andrea Levinge of White Widget appreciated how the developers used the tools provided: “I like how many risks they were willing to take in tackling the theme, so you have some really unusual gameplay mechanics [present].”

As for videogames being a viable career, she adds: “I think, slowly, parents are letting go of the old idea that kids shouldn't study gaming. The videogame industry is huge. You can power small countries with the amount of revenue games are bringing in. People have to stop thinking that games are this thing that waste your time.”



The bigger world of international gaming

Game Jam Manila is part of the Global Game Jam (GGJ), the world's largest game creation event which took place simultaneously in over 72 countries across the globe.
 
The Philippine leg of the GGJ took place at the ARG Theater of Benilde on the weekend of January 24 to 26 and featured over 38 teams comprised of 272 students, professional game developers and hobbyists. The Benilde site ranked No. 8 (out of 488 jam sites) worldwide in number of registered participants.
 
Other Game Jam sites across the country took place at the Manila Game Jam @ Globe Labs in Makati with 141 participants; the GGJ 2014 @ UIC in Davao which had 21 jammers; and the Central Luzon Game Jam held at the Central Luzon State University at the Science City of Muñoz that had 33 jam participants. All game jammers were required to stay at the event sites for the full 48 hours.
 
Delivering this year's keynote address was University of Southern California Associate Professor and former Naughty Dog lead designer Richard Lemarchand (developers of the Uncharted game franchise); game designer and media artist Kaho Abe; and president and creative director of That Game Company, Jenova Chen, creators of renowned Playstation 3 titles fl0w, Flower, and Journey.

'We see things as we are'
 
Open to all, participants to this year's Jam were asked to create a game around the theme “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
 
Norman Lee, Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) Academic Head and organizer of the Benilde Game Jam site says, “It's a character-building event. Creating a game in 48 hours is [no joke]. It's really hard. You'll know something about yourself and you'll know something about your teammates. The amazing thing is you're doing this along with other people who have the same goals and interests.”
 
Lee continues, “This is something that the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has been pushing for years. Their main purpose is to spread the word that game development is something we can share.”

This year's winners
 
Despite awarding outstanding games created within the 48-hour period, the GGJ is all about collaboration and is not considered a competition. Hence, only the presentation of certificates in lieu of prizes. As Lee puts it, “winners” get to have bragging rights and something prestigious to add to their resumés.
 
This year's other winners included an eclectic mix of whimsy and pure straightforward gaming. Fifth place winners were from team Table 14 for the game I am. We are.; fourth place was awarded to team High 5 for Yeti Set Go!; third place went to team Ba for Alteration; and team Toadie Project scored their second place win with Sight. A special Jammer's Choice – voted by their peers – was awared to team GG for their game A Robot Room.

Team Sir MoonSheep's Socro enthused: “I'm quite relieved. We put so much hard work there and it really feels nice when your hard work is rewarded.”

“(Dreamer) is one of the most beautiful games we've ever made,” she added.

Hard work pays off
 
The judges for the event, who are members of GDAP and representatives of their respective game development companies, were all praises with this year's crop of games. Shiran Balani of Quickfire Games says, “Considering the amount of time and the fact that most of them were students, I was impressed by many of the student and professional entries and how much they tried to experiment and work on something outside of their comfort zone.”
 
Alvin Juban, head of operations of Secret 6 and GDAP president added, “The biggest highlight this year is we actually doubled the participants from last year. For me – more than the variety of games – I'm just so happy that more people are getting on board.”
 
“We're growing a lot,” agrees Darwin Tardio of FunGuy Studios and GDAP vice president. “I've been judging for three years and the quality progresses every year. There's so much variety right now. These guys are expanding, learning a lot, and the schools are doing a great job teaching these kids.”

More schools are taking notice
 
“The schools are taking notice and that's amazing,” enthused Juban. “I think there's a really good chance of it really earning for the country. Gaming is equal for everyone. The next 'Angry Birds' could come from any country – it doesn't matter where – it just depends on how passionate you are. I think that's where we're going.”
 
The Global Game Jam started as a project by IGDA in 2009 and was inspired by other similar game jams before it such as the Ludum Dare, Indie Game Jam and Nordic Game Jam. Since 2013, the event has been managed by Global Game Jam, Inc.
 
All games created for Manila Game Jam 2014 @ Benilde can be downloaded for free here. — TJD, GMA News
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