Statewide Bragging Rights
Get your team together to compete to develop the best video game in the state in less than 48 hours. This showdown is open to undergraduate and graduate students in colleges and universities across the state, and professionals working in the video game, film or related technology industries. Teams will converge at UCF Downtown at Creative Village in Orlando, a hub for game devs with the highest concentration of game developer licenses in the country.
January 12-14, 2024
UCF Downtown at Creative Village
Register a 4-person team in one of two divisions: Undergraduate or Graduate & Professional. Judges include faculty and professionals from other colleges and universities, and the surrounding game dev industry.
Registration has closed. Good luck to all the teams!
How to Enter
1. Form your team
Gather up to four people on a team and select a team leader. There are two divisions:
Undergraduate: At the undergraduate level only, all members must be from the same college/university. Multiple teams from the same school can register.
Graduate/professional: At the graduate/professional level, grad student teams must be made of members from the same college/university. Professional teams can be formed from those currently working in the video game, film or related technology industries, regardless of company.
2. Register for the FIEA Collegiate Game Jam
Complete the registration form with your team’s information.
3. Pay the registration fee
Pay the $50 team registration fee, which covers some meals and facility/operation costs for your team.
4. Plan your trip for state domination
See information below regarding recommended accommodations, rules, prizes and other details.
Limited spots available. Enter today.
Registration has closed. Good luck to all the teams!
Prizes
Each winning team will take home the following prizes:
Four Nintendo Switch Lites
First Place
Undergraduate Division
Four $200 Universal Orlando Gift Cards
First Place
Graduate/Professional Division
Four $50 Best Buy Gift Cards
Second Place
Graduate/Professional and Undergraduate Divisions
Four $25 Best Buy Gift Cards
Third Place
Graduate/Professional and Undergraduate Divisions
Schedule
Check in on Friday evening. Mingle with other game dev students and professionals from around the state and prepare for an intense and lively weekend. More info to follow.
Friday
- 5pm-6:30pm Registration, meet & greet
- 7pm Rules and theme announcements
- 9pm Doors close for the night (Teams may continue to work off campus)
Saturday
- 8am Doors reopen (continental breakfast)
- 12pm-2pm Lunch provided (pizza) and tours of FIEA
- 9pm Doors close for the night (Teams may continue to work off campus)
Sunday
- 8am Doors reopen (continental breakfast)
- 12pm-2pm Lunch provided (sandwich box with chips and a cookie)
- 3pm Development concludes. Teams must upload a 30-second video of gameplay footage to share in the final presentation.
- 3pm-5pm Judging: Judges will play each team’s games at their tables.
- 5pm Video presentation of all games and winners announced (1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each division)
- 6pm World of Beer celebration
Registration has closed. Good luck to all the teams!
UCF Downtown & Creative Village
An Innovation District in Downtown Orlando
Orlando’s Creative Village was born in 2005 when the doors opened for 12 students to the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, a unique graduate program established in partnership between the State of Florida, City of Orlando and University of Central Florida with a mission to create high-wage talent for the growing video game development industry.
Parking
Attendees can park directly on campus at UCF Downtown. There will be free parking available in the UCF Parramore Parking Garage (PG1).
Recommended Accommodations
Crowne Plaza Downtown Orlando, 304 W. Colonial Dr., Orlando, FL 32801
Provide Group Name: FIEA Game Jam. Group Rate (UCF Educational Rate): $139/night
FIEA Collegiate Game Jam Rules & Judges
Last updated: January 3, 2024 3:45pm
Judges
Undergraduate Division
- Raghib Tyler, EA Orlando, Talent Acquisition
- Paul Weiler, Iron Galaxy, Game Programmer
- Stephen Cano, Iron Galaxy, Senior Programmer
Graduate/Professional Division
- Nick Heitzman, University of Florida Digital Arts & Science
- Christian Navarro, Florida Polytechnic University, Computer Science
- Brad Towle, Florida Polytechnic University, Game Design
Team Format
- Up to 4 participants per team (age 18 or older)
- There are two divisions:
- Undergraduate: At the undergraduate level only, all members must be currently enrolled as undergraduate students from the same college/university. Multiple teams from the same school can register.
- Graduate/professional: At the graduate/professional level, teams must be made of members currently enrolled as graduate-level students from the same college/university. Professional teams can be formed from those currently working in the video game, film or related technology industries, regardless of company.
Equipment & Network
- Your team is responsible for computer or development devices.
- Wi-Fi network and internet access will be provided.
Rights & Communication
- You retain all copyrights to your game
- You may utilize Discord or other communication devices within the team members only
- UCF retains the right to publicize the game contest and winners
Platforms & Engines
- You may use any game engine/framework/language to make your game and build for any platform you like that is not proprietary or owned by others, including mobile.
- Some acceptable engines/framework include: Unity, Unreal, RPG Maker, Gamemaker, Godot, Construct 2, Twine and others.
- We will not accept games that require external games/software to run (ie. Roblox)
- We allow games utilizing interpreters (python, some interactive fiction languages, etc.)
Submission Rules
- The game must be created and submitted within the game jam time frame
- Your game cannot contain hateful, derogatory, or bigoted content
- In the spirit of fair competition, you may not use pre-existing code and/or libraries
- Asset packs are permitted but cannot be more than 50% of the art content
- You may not use AI art, writing, audio, or code in your game, even for ideation
- You may not make NFT games
- We have the right to remove any game or jammer for violating submission rules
- A 30-second video of gameplay footage/screen capture must be submitted to be played at the final game presentation when winners will be announced. Games will not be judged by their video. This video may also be used by UCF for social/Game Jam marketing purposes.