Hello all!
So next Friday is the last day of this semester. This means it is also the Green Light Event. What is the Green Light Event you ask? There are a couple pieces to this event to explain so I'll start out by saying that almost every game student is required to take a class that we call Game Production Studio. This is a class dedicated to bringing game designers, programmers, and artists together in one class to work on a game project for 15 weeks. The class requires 10 hours of work from each student to contribute to the project they are on. For example this semester I was in this class and the project that I was on was called The Deadliest War. We've worked throughout the 15 weeks of the semester to create a fully polished and playable level. Where do these projects come from? I'm glad you asked because this is the reason we have a green light game jam and event. The Green Light Event is for students who have ideas for game projects, whether they be SIP (Student Innovation Project) related or not, to do a pitch on their idea in front of our game professors and a couple other judges to determine if their project can be worked on during the next semesters Game Production Studio class. Any students idea is welcome and any student who pitches at the Green Light Event must have some work already done on the project. The student must have a base of what the game will look like in order to pitch at the event. This is the reason we usually hold a Green Light Game Jam. If you don't know what a Game Jam is, it's a challenge for participants to complete a playable level or piece within 48 hours. With just what you could do at the game jam is almost enough to do a pitch. With a little more work and a presentation thrown together any student can pitch a game. A great thing about this pitch is that if you are struggling and don't know how to pitch yet, your professors are always willing to look over what you have so far and offer some feedback. They can even help you learn how to pitch your game.
There have been many games that have run through the UAT Game Studio from starting out as a game jam concept and then followed through and worked on during a game production studio. Crimson Nights is a great example of this. Creator Kenny and his friends worked on Crimson Nights during a "bloody" themed game jam awhile back. They worked on it some more and brought it to the Green Light Event. Their game got green lit, meaning it would be used in the Game Production Studio class during the following semester. This semester it is currently running very strong and doing very well. You can check out their Facebook page here.
