EPIC Hosts Global Game Jam 2020

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YEREVAN, Armenia ‒ January 31-February 2, the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) and Noor Games jointly organized the Global Game Jam 2020 at AUA. This is the fourth consecutive year that AUA is hosting the online gaming hackathon.

The Global Game Jam is an annual international gaming hackathon organized worldwide since 2009. It is the world’s largest gaming (game creation) event that brings together people to explore new technology tools and develop a new game in a span of 48 hours. The jam starts when participants assemble on a late Friday afternoon to watch a short video keynote with advice from leading game developers, and then the undisclosed game theme is announced. All sites worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that theme by Sunday afternoon. 

This year’s theme was “Repair,” and the creativity of the participants was immense. More than 100 participants made up 30 teams and created 25 games. Among this year’s remarkable games were “The Last of the Vikings,” “Repair the Jammer,” “Doctor, I’ve Got a Problem,” “Revival,” and others. 

Seven experienced mentors worked with the teams and coached them through the process of creating the games. Among them were game developers, designers, artists, and game enthusiasts.

“We can proudly say that the quality of the games created in 48 hours is becoming more professional with each passing year. One of the best games from last year’s hackathon “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” has changed its format from video to a board game and will soon be released for sale. This kind of success motivates us to continue the tradition of doing the Global Game Jam every year,” remarked Narek Aghekyan, Global Game Jam 2020 organizer from Noor Games.

The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) is a platform for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and startup venture incubation. EPIC provides an ecosystem for the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) emerging entrepreneurs consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspace, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors and investors. EPIC fosters the understanding and application of entrepreneurship with students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures.