Successful Global Game Jam elicits “creativity and buzz” from students
Date: Friday, February 28, 2025
Gaming students from Wrexham University created 17 original concepts from start to end in a 48-hour period as part of an annual global event.
The annual Global Game Jam (GGJ) event saw students from Wrexham University take part for the twelfth year in succession.
GGJ is the world's largest game creation event taking place around the globe, with this year’s event spanning 850 locations across more than 100 countries – with Wales represented at three sites, including Wrexham University.
The aim of the event is to empower all participants worldwide to learn, experiment, and create together through the medium of games in a safe and welcoming environment.
Tom Camargo Williams, a second-year Computer Game Design and Enterprise degree student, who took part in the ‘jam’, said it was “exciting” to be part of.
He said: “This is the third year that I’ve taken part in Global Game Jam, and once again it was a brilliant experience from start to finish. The atmosphere is always fun, welcoming and buzzing. It encourages us all to think creatively, which I always really enjoy.
“I was in a team with one of my good friends and fellow student, Ethan Harris-Austin, and we developed a game called ‘Sea Ya Later’, which is about a crab, that is trying to escape the sea and get back onto the beach. Although the concept is a bit of fun, there are plenty of educational messages interspersed throughout relating to sustainability and the environment.”
Ethan Harris-Austin and Tom Camargo Williams
Tom is currently in his industrial placement year of the degree and has taken the brave step of working for himself by setting up his own games studio.
“When I graduate from university, my ambition is to start up my own business, which is why I’ve set up my own studio for my placement year rather than work for a company. This is about my own future planning,” he said.
“My studio is called Squidwich Studios, which focuses on games that are sea-themed but all underpinned by an overarching sustainability message.
“I believe that in order to stand out and cut through the noise in the industry, you have to have something that sets you apart from the rest – for me that’s having my games centre around my values and ethics relating to making a positive environmental impact.”
In total, more than 35,371 ‘jammers’ globally created a total of 12,098 games – 20 per cent more games than last year’s GGJ event.