Started in 2015, Retro Inspired is in its third annual cycle and kick started yesterday with a Game Design Master Class by invited speaker and founder of Llamasoft, Mr Jeff Minter. Participants pitched their games and discussed with the independent English video game designer and programmer for improvements.

Next in the series of Retro Inspired 2017 is the highly anticipated 24-hour Game Jam where teams from different institutions will compete to be in the top 3 winning teams. Number of participants have grown by 90% to when it started in 2015. This year, new schools have surfaced in the competition and the university is pleased to welcome them to their first game jam:

• Digipen Institute of Technology
• University of Glasgow
• Singapore Management University
• Ngee Ann Polytechnic
• De La Salle University Dasmariñas from the Philippines

Institutions who have participated in past game jam competitions are returning:

• Singapore Polytechnic
• Nanyang Polytechnic
• ITE College Central
• Temasek Polytechnic
• Republic Polytechnic

With 28 teams competing this year for the top 3 prizes, it is going to be a challenge for participants to walk away with a prize on Sunday. Judges from the industry will assess the games created by these teams. Members of the public will also be involved in the assessment by voting for their favourite game. Every voter is entitled to a lucky draw ticket where one of the prizes is a Mini HD Camera.

On the same day, Mr Jeff Minter will also share his knowledge gained from 38 years in gaming for budding game developers to learn more before diving into the industry.

*James Cook University is home to JCU Museum of Video and Computer Games; the first permanent museum entirely dedicated to the preservation of video and computer games in South East Asia and the Tropics.