A Successful Game Jam Hosted with Schools Across the Triangle

The first Triangle Game Jam, co-hosted by NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Duke Game Design, Development and Innovation and UNC Chapel Hill Computer Science, was a major success. Ahmed Ali, director of the Albright Entrepreneurs Village and one of the lead organizers, said, “The gaming community has always been great at self-organizing; all we had to do was coordinate the space and provide students the opportunity to make those connections across campuses.”

Duke University kicked off the event on Saturday, February 22, with keynote speaker Shannon Loftis from Microsoft, on the “Optimism of the Games Industry.” Afterwards, student teams were created from multiple schools, including NC State, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Tech Community College, William and Peace University and UNC Charlotte.

UNC Chapel Hill continued the Game Jam on Sunday, February 23, for student teams to continue developing their games. In the afternoon, Rick Marks, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill,  gave a keynote presentation on “Prototype Games at the Bleeding Edge of Technology.” Later, teams presented for peer and mentor feedback and then attended a workshop on building a portfolio as a game developer.

NC State hosted the second weekend of the Triangle Game Jam. Saturday, March 1, started with a tour of the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage and additional time to work on their games. NC State also hosted a workshop, “Let’s Get Loopy! Game Loops, Conveyance and their Impact on Scope,” with Gabe Pappalardo, head of Six Wings Studios.

On the final day, Sunday, March 2, teams put the finishing touches on their innovative games and submitted them to the showcase. Lunch was hosted at the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage while judges from a variety of organizations, including Epic Games, Unity and Nvidia, tested the games.

Later that afternoon, over 130 people attended the Showcase to test games, provide feedback and vote for the Audience’s Choice Award. The Judge’s Choice Award and Triangle Game Jam Award also had prizes attached for team members.

All of the games submitted and the seven winning teams are listed at the bottom of the article.

What was it like to host this event?

Over the past few months, student gaming clubs and staff from NC State, Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill worked tirelessly to plan this new event. This team started slow in 2024, as they discussed how the gaming clubs and communities operated at their schools and what their goals were. They began to piece together how it would be possible to host an event like this.

At the start of 2025, things began to pick up as the team prepared for the first weekend in late February. Students from the universities helped to create the Triangle Game Jam logo and branding, schedules including guest speakers, trophies, graphics among other things.

“We aimed to kickstart a tradition that continues for years afterward, and I feel like we accomplished that…We received incredible enthusiasm not just from other universities but companies like Epic Games and Unity to host this event again,” said Nathan Muckler, a senior studying computer science with a concentration in game development in the College of Engineering and vice president of the NC State Game Development club.

Hosting this event also allowed these student clubs to learn about event planning. They had to make some pivots to keep the event running smoothly. It required them to practice resiliency and adaptability.

Why are events like the Triangle Game Jam important?

Events like the Triangle Game Jam are important because they allow students to network, collaborate, try new things, gain visibility from other communities and more. These events also get the attention of larger companies that may provide opportunities in the future for students to continue their passion full time.

The Triangle Game Jam allowed students to practice using an entrepreneurial mindset. Muckler said, “Game developers have to find creative solutions to turn a rough idea into something playable often with limited resources, limited time or small teams.” Game development comes with unexpected challenges, such as finding a game-breaking bug last minute that requires quick pivots. It also allows students to practice interdisciplinary teamwork skills as programmers, artists, designers and others came together to create a finished product.

In creating a viable game, these students collaborated, ideated and developed new technology. It brought together students across multiple universities that may have never connected otherwise. Carson Cole, a senior in the College of Engineering and president of the Game Development Club, said, “[Students] were able to think [outside] of the box and rely on their teammates in order to create things we’ve never seen before, and I think that is really special.”

Winning Teams

This Itch page contains all the games submitted for the Showcase.