Swansea University is organising a Copper Jam in 2022 to share the 3D models we have created from the Hafod Morfa Copperworks site. The models will be made available as Unity 3D Asset files. Entrants will be invited to create their own game using the models and digital assets (photographs, maps, oral histories). This must be completed within the time frame of the Jam and all entries will be judged. The winning team will be invited to Swansea University (subject to social restrictions) and presented with a certificate as well as having the opportunity to visit our Virtual Reality Lab.  

For all enquiries and to register your college of school please email Dr Tracy Evans (tracy.evans@swansea.ac.uk) and Dr Sean Walton (s.p.walton@swansea.ac.uk). If you wish to sign up as an individual you can do so simply by signing up with an itchio account here.

Who is eligible?

This game jam is open to all that are interested in taking part.  For logistical reasons, the prize is only available for students attending FE colleges and Sixth Forms in Wales.  People can sign up as teams or individuals.  

When will it take place?

The Copper Jam will take place in February. The deadline for submissions will be 28th February 2022.

Where do I get the assets?

You can download various digital assets and recourses from this onedrive folder. The Hafod Morfa Copperworks mesh can be downloaded here as a Unity3D asset bundle. Images can be downloaded here.

You can find out more about the Copperworks on the Hafod Morfa Copperworks Website.

Do I need to use Unity3D?

No you don't. However the 3D assets have been created as a Unity3D asset bundle so you may not be able to use those if you do not use Unity3D. The other digital assets are available in various file formats.

Background Information

The Jam is organised by staff from the History, Heritage & Classics and Computer Science departments. Over the past 3 years we have commissioned a series of 3D models of the Hafod Morfa Copperworks site as part of the ongoing regeneration. The remaining buildings are just a tiny fraction of a massive industry that was built in the lower Swansea Valley in the 19th Century. At its height, Swansea produced most of the world’s copper, importing copper ore from across the world: South Africa, Cuba, Chile and even Australia. Copper products were also exported around the world. The works began to close when the demand for copper decreased and eventually ceased entirely in 1981. The current site is owned by Swansea Council and restoration work on the remaining buildings is ongoing. 

Full Brief for students

Using the 3D models provided, create your own original game. Although you do not need to create a historical world, we would like you to consider the following themes:

1. Past, Present & Future

Before the Industrial Revolution the site would have been green fields, with small houses for farmers and their animals. At the height of the industrial era there were 171 chimneys bellowing smoke into the skies up the river Tawe in the lower Swansea Valley. Now, only 2 chimneys remain and a handful of buildings which are undergoing restoration. The site is planned for further developments including housing and enterprise.

2. Industrial Wales

Wales was one of the first countries in the world to lead the Industrial Revolution. Whereas cotton and the production of textiles drove the industrial era in England, in Wales the story was not about the factories, it was all about the coal, which Wales had lots of. Coal was an innovative source of power and allowed for huge increases in the processing of raw materials. In the Copperworks the coal was used to power huge ovens called furnaces to make copper. Swansea already had a busy port, connected all over the world. The docks, canals and railways made it very easy for coal and copper to be transported up and down the river Tawe.

3. Post-industrial Wales

When an industrial site is no longer in use for industrial use it can often become rundown and abandoned. This is true of the Copperworks site. For a period of 20-30 years it lay disused – a place on the ‘edge.’ The soil and the river were also very toxic until work was done to clean it up. Now the river is clean and is used for a variety of leisure purposes.

You may want to:

• recreate factory processes
• clean up and restore the buildings
• re-imagine it as a place to make something else
• recreate the site at its height and try and operate it as effectively as past copperworkers