Goldsmiths computing students victorious for second year in a row at Ukie Student game jam

A student team from Goldsmiths, University of London has been announced as the winner of the second annual Ukie Student game jam – a nationwide competition to create a new computer game over a non-stop 36-hour session.

The game ‘Code Name Spy’ was named as the winner, making it the second consecutive win by students from the Department of Computing.

The jam, which ran from 11th - 12th May, saw 14 teams from Ukie’s student membership competing against each other to create the best game possible in 36 hours, with the theme’ identity crisis’. 

The teams were paired with industry mentors and supplied with food and drink throughout, courtesy of sponsors, with the winning game receiving a trophy and an exclusive pitch on Square Enix’s project Collective.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie said: “The standard of games that the Ukie students managed to make in such a short period of time was amazing. The jam offers invaluable experience to games industry stars of tomorrow and gives them a chance to get quality one-to-one time with key industry people. All the entrants have really done themselves proud.”

"We spent a lot of time laughing about the art, sounds and the ridiculous script but we learned so much"

Goldsmiths student and team leader Aldo Curtis said: “We had a great time and we are ecstatic to have been chosen as the winners with our game, Code Name Spy.

“We wanted to make something different which fitted the jam theme and this is why we came up with a conversation game where you play through a seven year old’s idea of a spy movie. Myself and the team - Sam Hayhurst, Richard Fox, Sokol Murturi, Andrea Castegnaro - spent a lot of time laughing about the art, sounds and the ridiculous script but we learned so much from the jam.

“We had a great venue at Goldsmiths, and being partnered with an industry mentor, like our own mentor Ed Fear, meant we could get valuable critique, tips, advice and comments on the game which really helped us create the best game possible in the given time.”

"A testament to the wealth of creativity and talent that exists out there in the student community"

The event was sponsored by Square Enix’s project Collective and the NextGen Skills Academy.

Managing director of NextGen Skills Academy and judge, Gina Jackson said: “Huge congratulations to the winning team of this year's Ukie Student Game Jam. I was extremely impressed by the quality of the games that were created; it never fails to amaze me that so much can be achieved in such a short space of time, which is a testament to the wealth of creativity and talent that exists out there in the student community when it comes to game design and creation. It was our pleasure to be a sponsor of this event. Developing the next generation of game makers is what NextGen is all about"

‘Code Name Spy’ and all other game entries from the game jam will be available on Ukie’s website in the coming weeks.

Ukie (UK Interactive Entertainment) is the only trade body for the UK's games and wider interactive entertainment industry.

Three Goldsmiths teams entered this year's Ukie Student game jam. Find out more on our news pages.