Our first annual national climate change video game design competition has come to a close! Check out ourJAM RULES & RUBRIC

Our Winners:

Student Team Entries:

• Professor Maren & The Aqueous Stones, which won Best In Show, was developed by Eric Patrick from the University of California, Irvine. Though not the strongest game in any of the three core categories specifically, our judges agreed that Professor Maren & The Aqueous Stones was the best game at addressing all of our themes overall. It’s an excellent example of a game that is on topic and fun to play.

• Tidy Ocean, developed by a student team from Ohio University, won in the category for Oceans. Congratulations to Ginger Gilpin, Josh Myers, Max Roback, Kyle Chiasson, and Raven Werry for their hard work!

• Climate Chantey, developed by a student team from our very own University of Delaware, won for Women Leadership. The team consisted of Chris Bennett, Mikey Bocelli, Kori Nguyen, Tyran Rice Jr., and Ziyi Zhou.

• Fish ’n Clicks, which won for Transformative Potential, was put together by a multi-university student duo comprised of Jolynn Huang from the University of Southern California and Ryan Kubota from Irvine Valley College.

Non-student Entries:

• Merilla’s Memories won for Best Non-Student Team Entry. This stylish and soothing game was developed by Wen Chew, Chris Zhouyi Shen, Jeremy “Jerebee” Warner, Kevin Chao, Dashiell “Dash” Curran, Felysia Chew, Gum Lim, Alex Chow, and Andrew Liang.

• We also would like to give a shoutout to Recycle more - How to make a difference, which was another excellent non-student entry. This game was created by solo-developer Kristofer "Kritzlof" Vaske.

Each year, we will have a new topic and social issue connected to climate change. 

This year, thanks to seed funding from the National Science Foundation and Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation United Nations Oceans Decade Champions program,  we’re looking for games that address climate change, oceans, and women leaders. Climate change is a major world issue, and it needs far greater communication about the challenges of climate change, how it will or could affect environmental and human systems, and what the future could look like. Game jams are a fun space to build game development skills, create community, and learn about a thematic area. We want your creativity!

College students (undergraduate & graduate) will have ~2 weeks in February 2024 to design and submit a game on our Itch.io site. No experience necessary! Join as a team or join as an individual and find a team on our discord server or at one of our pre-jam webinars. It is highly encouraged that each team includes a climate scientist.

JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/7Cyca2ZYaR

READ MORE & FIND RESOURCES AT:  www.climategeekology.com 

Games will be evaluated by a panel of judges including game design experts, creative writers & artists, and oceans and climate scientists. The top games in each of three major categories will receive cash prizes.

We'll also judge the best original music, artwork, and story. The top 2-3 games in each category will be made available for the public to play at the University of Delaware Esports arena; they will also be hosted online and used in teaching demos over the next year (with credit to the developers). 

TIMELINE:

• 30 Jan - Webinar: Ocean Science Inspiration (Ask a Marine Scientist) (register)
• 1 Feb - Jam Opens: Teams may continue to join throughout 
• 1 Feb - Webinar: Environmental Game Design (Tactics & Climate Psychology with Clayton Whittle!)  (register)
• 1-18 Feb - Resources, videos, and tips on environmental game design and science communication shared on Discord server
• 18 Feb - Jam Closes; Judging team scores games and provides feedback 
• 8 March - Celebration & Winners Announced; Networking, open game play, food, and presentations as part of the University of Delaware Geek Week. Stay tuned for game company attendees. (Participants are all invited but do not need to attend to be eligible to win.)   Keynote Speaker: Carolina Torres from E-Line Media! 

ELIGIBILITY

Games may be submitted by individuals or teams. We encourage teams to include  climate or marine scientists and game developers. All team members must be enrolled part-time or full-time in a United States two- or four-year college undergraduate or graduate program. You can absolutely design a game solo if you like, but climate change involves many different angles, so we also encourage collaboration! (Teams limited to size of 5 people) Addressing the theme is a CRITICAL component of our judging, so engaging with climate or ocean studies teammates is highly encouraged. 

Only one person needs to join itch.io to submit the game. Others may be tagged as collaborators. 

OUR THEMES 

Anything related to oceans is fair game: life underwater, human uses of the oceans, marine ecosystems, ships, ocean weather, past and future oceans. You can interpret this theme however you like, but we will rate games higher that include some elements related to climate change -- whether that means showing how oceans are affected by climate change, how oceans can contribute to climate solutions, what a future ocean might look like, or something else entirely. We are looking for creativity and surprising perspectives!

Similarly, women leaders is a broad theme. Maybe the submitting team is led by a female game developer. Maybe the content portrays female scientists. Maybe the game engages with gender dynamics in climate science. By female, we mean characters who identify as female, not necessarily as assigned at birth. We are also open to gender non-binary and other types of diversity in teams and game representation. Challenge conventions about how females and gender norms are portrayed. Consider how gender influences the way people interact with and are affected by the world (and oceans and climate change). For more information on how gender is portrayed in media (and ideas and tools to change these norms), see https://seejane.org. For an introduction to how climate change affects women, see https://unfccc.int/news/five-reasons-why-climate-action-needs-women. 

CATEGORIES

• Transformative Potential – Games that embody best environmental game design principles, use accurate scientific information, are closely related to the theme, and have strong potential to inform or change players. Games in this category will convey climate change or oceans-related science in ways that are accurate, engaging, and understandable to a public audience. The best games will have a clear audience and goal for transformation (not sure how to do this? come to our Feb 1 webinar or see resources on Discord!): for example, is your goal to raise awareness of climate in general, educate about a particular issue, highlight solutions, build community, imbue empathy, illustrate a range of futures?
• Oceans - Games that best incorporate oceans not just as setting but into the narrative or game play. The best games in this category will demonstrate a grasp of ocean science and convey the importance of oceans. 
• Women Leadership – Games in this category will advance women as leaders – in life, science, or game design – and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of gender representation and inclusion.

Top games in each category will win $500.  The best overall entry in the Jam will win an additional $1,000 (so teams have the potential to win up to $1500). 

Games can also receive Honorable Mention (and $100) for: 

• Best Original Soundtrack 
• Best Original Artwork 
• Best Storyline 
• Most Creative (challenges norms, new spin)
• Best Solo Game (we HIGHLY encourage teams, but if you truly want to go it alone, this is for you)
• Best Cross-Discipline Collaboration (team with at least one ocean or climate scientist)
• Best Female-Led Team
  

Games may win in up to 3 honorable mention categories as well as a core category.

RULES: 

• Your game must not include any NSFW or offensive/discriminatory content including nudity and hateful language or visuals. These could result in your game being disqualified. Please avoid extremely strong language or excessive gore. Top games will be available for the public to play at the University of Delaware; we will not play any game that could not be viewed by children or your parents.  
• You are allowed to use any game engine or framework. You can use any assets for which you have the proper license, and we encourage crediting. 
• Teams are allowed and encouraged. 
• Who can enter? All team members must be enrolled part-time or full-time in a United States two- or four-year college undergraduate or graduate program (in any field in any program) to have their submission be eligible for prizes.
  
• What can I make my game in? Anything, so long as it runs on Windows or a browser and does not require additional hardware or software. You can use whatever engine, programming language, or software you like. Consider engines such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Game Maker, Godot, Construct, or PICO-8. (see www.climategeekology for more ideas and resources)

EVENTS

We will be holding a series of optional webinars related to the themes for anyone who wants to know more about game design, ocean science, or women and representation in games, with more information on the specifics in our discord under events.

We also have an optional in-person festival on the University of Delaware campus in Newark, DE, on March 8th. Mark your calendars and plan to come celebrate and network with us!  Carolina Torres from E-Line Media will be our keynote speaker. Stay tuned for regional game design company attendees. 

You can also see examples of climate change and oceans-themed video games at www.climategeekology.com or in our Discord!

Thanks!

Funding for this Jam is provided by the National Science Foundation and the Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation as part of their support for UN Ocean Decade Champions program, and by the Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub, University of Delaware College of Arts and Sciences, College of Earth Ocean and the Environment, and Delaware Sea Grant.  Dr. A.R. Siders is the University of Delaware oceans champion organizing the Jam, along with a team of contributors from across the University of Delaware, including the Disaster Research Center Coastlines and People Hub, the Game Studies and eSports program, and Delaware eSports.  Alex Irwin and Isabella Andres have been critical in organizing the Jam. Thanks to Aaron Vaness who provided logistical support during the Jam's organization. Thanks to Nicholas Bezio and Macsen Evans for creating our graphics (the circles), and thank you to all those who have contributed their time and energy to make this happen.