V&A Dundee to host game design jam

V&A Dundee will hold its first ever game design jam to mark the final weekend of the major exhibition Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, which is open until Sunday 8 September.

Working with Abertay University, Europe’s leading university for teaching and research in videogame design, game makers will be invited to create brand new games inspired by V&A Dundee. 

This could be a game based on Kengo Kuma’s architecture, the permanent Scottish Design Galleries, or the exhibition Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt.

Over three days, from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 September, the museum will become a live design studio open to game designers, artists, programmers, musicians and sound designers. On the Sunday afternoon the public are invited to visit the museum to play the prototype games from 14.00-16.00.

Game makers can register as teams, or come to the jam and join a team on the day.

Free tickets are available now at https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/event/142/game-design-jam-operas-and-bridges

Joanna Mawdsley, Head of Learning at V&A Dundee, said: “Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupthas been a hugely exciting exhibition for us to put on, and visitors of all ages have had the opportunity to see behind-the-scenes of how games are made, from beautiful sketches to huge orchestral scores.

“For the final weekend we want to take this even further, and working with Abertay University we’ll be welcoming game designers to create entirely new games in the museum over three days.

“V&A Dundee was created to showcase and inspire creativity, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the end of this wonderful exhibition than a huge game jam inspired by V&A Dundee.”

Clare Brennan, Abertay University academic and curator, said: “As one of V&A Dundee’s founding partners, we were delighted to be involved with the Videogames: Design/Play/Disruptexhibition, which has really shone a light on what games and game design mean in the modern era.

“Our staff and students have been working hard to bring together this special celebratory game jam – a fitting way to bring the curtain down on the exhibition and Dundee’s city-wide Summer of Games programme.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how our jammers respond to the theme and would encourage anyone with an interest in videogame development to get involved.”

The game jam is taking inspiration from a quote by game creator and academic Frank Lantz which is featured at the start of the exhibition: “Making games combines everything that’s hard about building a bridge with everything that’s hard about composing an opera. Games are operas made out of bridges.”

Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt was curated by Marie Foulston, V&A Curator of Videogames and Kristian Volsing, V&A Research Curator, and shown at V&A South Kensington from 8 September 2018 to 24 February 2019.