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On Sunday 31st of January, Tom Hillman and myself arrived at Glasgow Caledonian University to see the final stages of the Scottish Game Jam.
Given that 48 hours had passed since the teams were given their subject matter, the teams were busy working away feverishly in order to finish their projects on time.
An eloquent but obviously slightly tired Romana Khan greeted us on arrival but lets face facts having been up for the full event would take its toll on anyone. As the event organiser we talked to her first.
In my previous interview, Romana had been suggesting that a tent might be used to help people sleep in the soft light environment the Scottish Game Jam took place in.
So... no tent?
Romana Khan: No tent. It basically comes down to Health and Safety. It was going to be such a hassle to get everything sorted out that we decided to leave the tent. We had enough other worries to think about that we thought lets just leave the tent and we'll sort it out for next year.
Like last year the couches were used as sleeping hotspots but we also discovered an area behind the shelving units over there [points] and there are couches there and it's nice and quiet.
You've impressively been here for the whole stint, any teething problems?
RK: Just in day one when they were told about the constraints. There was an initial confusion because the theme this year was Deception which is the same across the globe and the constraints are unique for time zones, so we had constraints that were a wink, sink or rink and you had to incorporate one of these three into your game.
What one of the teams is doing is they've just taken a picture of me winking which they're going to stick in at the end. A couple of the teams have decided to go for sinks and rinks.
As in ice rinks?
RK: It depends how they translate it but a number of them have gone for ice rinks. The team over there have a game with intergalactic planets and are having a black hole at the end which sucks you in.
On Friday night the internet went down for a couple of hours and we made an announcement that it was down and as we're out of semester support isn't 24/7 and we'd have to wait until 9 a.m. but luckily it came back up at about 4 or 5 in the morning by itself. Some of the artists couldn't source images but they took the opportunity to sleep.
That was the biggest problem we had and other than that people got on really well.
So have all the teams got a working prototype?
RK: They have got a working prototype as far as I'm aware, which is great news. Jon [Sykes] went round this morning to see how things were getting on and they all had a working version and were trying to polish the edges although it's difficult to try and add something at this late stage.
We have nine teams in total this year and five girls taking part; last year we had zero.
What is the standard of quality compared to last year?
RK: It's much better but that's reflected in the experience that people are bringing with them. I think that's reflected in the games and the fact that there are working prototypes.
Are there returning competitors?
RK: We do have returning participants. Some of them predominantly reformed their team from last year a couple of their friends couldn't come but the core of the team was the same as it was last year. There are about ten to twelve people who were here last year.
For most part they've ended up working in new teams.
Which is the point of Global Game Jam.
RK: Which is the point of the Game Jam. They've all been getting on really well and people have been helping each other out. It's a healthy competition.
One of our guest judges from Realtime Worlds who has been here for almost the full forty hours said at the start that they shouldn't try to unplug each others machines or try and sabotage each others games. It's great to help other people as well.
He also volunteered to guide and advise teams from start to finish and they found that really helpful. He was going round all the teams and acting as a sounding board. They found him really, really helpful and when he was away one of the teams came along to say, "Where is he. We need him."
Where are the other judges from?
RK: Realtime Worlds and Denki. Four from Realtime Worlds and one from Denki.
Do you think that there's a team out there who are going for the win?
RK: I think not so much competing with the others but more trying to challenge themselves. It is the more experienced guys who are trying to push themselves.
This year the organisers of Global Game Jam have introduced an achievements system this year so they outlined ten achievements which may seem a little "off the wall". Teams can incorporate a maximum of four achievements per game if you wish. They're not mandatory but for the more experienced people it's a bit more of a challenge.
One of them is having weird body sounds in your game, stomach gurgling or coughing, although I don't think anyone has gone for that. Another was the game session to complete in five minutes and I think one of the teams is trying to complete that. Again not so much for the competition but instead to try and challenge themselves and produce something great.
I've not seen any teams trying to psyche each other out or make dagger eyes at each other.
Or ask each other to gurgle or cough.
Do you think the quality in this Scottish Game Jam, as I've heard there's one in Dundee, will stand out?
RK: I hope so but at last count there were 139 locations in 38 countries taking part. There will be a total of more than 800 games being made this weekend. It could go up to 1000. How they're going to sift through and identify the ones that really are excellent may involve them coming back to the organisers of each site to nominate one game that really grabbed their attention and put that forward.
In terms of participants as well there will be about 4000 so I don't know. I hope we can be proud of what we've done here and seeing the standard I'm proud of what's been done and the judges who have been around have liked what they've seen as well. I hope we've done Scotland proud.
I think it's fantastic and to have people around to help.
RK: Yes I think it's great to have the support around us. We have a great industry here in Scotland and they are supporting us. People from Realtime Worlds being here offering their support around the clock is great and they gain the experience of their advice and their input as well and it builds the collaborative feeling so everyone helps each other.
Next year?
RK: I've already been thinking about next year. Bigger and better! We've almost doubled in size this year and we're hoping that next year we'll be stronger. Some people applied very late and we couldn't accommodate them as we couldn't get machines and space, which was a shame.
Next year we want more people to take part. There are people from Abertay [University] who have come down. Last year was predominantly Glasgow and industry based so this time, with more Scottish universities involved, they'll hopefully take word back and send more people next year.
Having places to sleep adds incentive as well because they don't need to find something elsewhere and Glasgow is easy to get to as well.
Do you think by offering this event you're helping consolidate some of the talent coming through the various game design courses available in Scotland?
RK: It really is just showing the strength of, not only the academic side but also the industry side as well as some of these people will end up getting jobs in the Scottish industry. It shows the incredible amount of talent available here as well.
We had a lady who came up from London and her initial concern was that she didn't know anyone. I told her most people don't. We had social exercises on Friday for people to get to know each other and we also had someone from Dare to be Digital talking and telling people why they should be taking part. We got people to play games and get to know the people around them and talk to at least one person you don't know because that's the way you become aware of the skills available.
This year we had a shortage of artists, six or seven, which is a problem when you have nine teams. We need to try and get more artists involved next year.
When you see the people around us at the moment they're going to be the future of the games industry. Global Game Jam allows them to take part in something fun, with its own pressures because of time, but allows students the opportunity to meet and talk to people in the industry, making contacts and start building that bridge. It's all about opportunities.
So as a final question. Are you looking forward to some sleep?
RK: Oh Yes. I've taken the day off tomorrow and if I get out of bed I'm probably going to hit myself or something. Tomorrow is a day off.
I'm going to try to be dead to the world but I know part of me will be itching to see what's been done.
Itching to know who won?
We'll be back later this week with a review of the award ceremony and an overview of the nine games that were created at this excellent event.