Three Thing Game Friday May 12th to Saturday May 13th 2017
Hello all,
Registration is now open!
I have made an all new video to entice you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p2TL5aNhlI and
to announce that registration for the event is now open!
It is my pleasure to announce that the magnificent, marvellous, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, Three
Thing Game is a go!
For those not in the know, Three Thing Game is a programming Game Jam run over (approximately)
24 hours. Teams of enthusiasts (that’s you people, as well as me and my ‘kind’) gather to challenge
themselves to create a game based on 3 random words that they will be given. At the end of the 24
hours you get to subject your game to a thorough Judging against various criteria like: adherence to
the Things, how complete is your game, and how much money you slip the judge discreetly.
Over the years teams from all years of study have made some great stuff, some of which has even
been published in various app stores. So you should definitely not be discouraged from taking part in
your first year. This is an excellent opportunity to put your skills in to practice, to hone your craft.
This is also one of those ‘extra-curricular’ activities that help to distinguish you in the eyes of
potential employers from the 300 other people that will be graduating from here at the same time.
To further support first year participation we will be running a Diversifier to shake things up a bit.
You can optionally develop a Windows Console Application only game, so now there is no excuse!
Breaking News!
Since the last announcement, we have some further exciting developments.
In addition to the game Diversifier mentioned above we have a competition sub-category for games
that make use of the FizzYo device: https://github.com/Fizzyo/fizzyo-challenge. In summary, it is a
device that measures breath output, and is used for Cystic Fibrosis patients as part of their physio
programme. What does that have to do with a game jam you may ask? Well, I am glad you asked,
because these devices can be represented as a single axis joystick (plus button) and so can be used
as a control input for your games. There is a framework and examples to allow you to use the
devices with Monogame or Unity. The idea is that you can make a game that encourages (in
particular) younger physio patients to complete their physio and using the correct technique.
Microsoft are providing some rather nice prizes for games that make use of this, with the stipulation
that the games produced be open-sourced and added here at the end:
https://GitHub.com/fizzyo/games.
We also have some guest speakers, Dominique Louis and Simon Jackson coming to give a talk on
Monogame and Unity on Friday 12th May 1400 – 1600 in the Large Lecture Theatre in the Applied
Science building. This talk is open to all Computer Science students not just those participating in the
game jam.
APD Communications (https://www.apdcomms.com/about-us) a (very) local employer heard about
this most fabulous event (original video *cough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2SZ8klcMnY)
and got in touch to support the event. They are kindly sponsoring our pizza and will be coming along
with a team of their engineers to chat with you all. In addition, many of their employees are
University of Hull Computer Science alumni that remember Three Thing Game fondly and they will
be forming a team to take part and to see if they still have what it takes. They also have two
graduate vacancies that you may want to check out:
https://www.apdcomms.com/vacancies/2017/4/3/graduate-engineer
https://www.apdcomms.com/vacancies/2017/3/27/graduate-firmware-engineer
So what do I need to do?
I am glad you asked. First thing is to put the date in your diary.
Friday May 12th 2017 which is the last Friday of the semester. All your coursework should be done,
and it is before the exams, so should make for a fun relaxing activity to blow off steam.
Form teams! Generally speaking, you want to have a maximum of 5 people in your team. Under the
pressure of 24 hours it can be very difficult to integrate the efforts of large numbers of people. Even
5 is pushing it a little. You can download the form from here:
https://canvas.hull.ac.uk/files/357912/download?download_frd=1. It costs £2 per person in your
team to take part, which helps to cover the cost of all the food and snacks that will be supplied. Your
registration is complete when you submit your completed form with the right total amount of
money. You can submit your registration to me in my office RBB-311D, you may want to email me
to confirm that I am there in case of lectures and meetings and bears (oh my).
Registration will close on Wednesday 3rd May so please get your registration forms and money to
me before then so that we can organise the right quantities of food and refreshments.
There are a limited number of places as everyone needs to be able to fit in the big lab and these are
on a first come first served basis.
If you would like to take part but can’t form a team then you can go stag and be a team of one (some
people have made this work very well before) or you could identify on your form that you would like
to be in a team. We can then pool you together into teams. Where there is a will there is a way.
We would also like to invite you to volunteer to be a Jambassador! These most excellent individuals
will be helping out with the organisation and running of the event. A Jambassador does not
necessarily have to be participating in the competition itself, but equally they are welcome to do
both. If this is something that interests you then please get in touch by emailing me
([email protected]).
When do I get my words?
Excellent question. On Wednesday 10th May at 1300 in LTA in the Robert Blackburn building. So I
guess that you probably want to remember that as well.
What about on the day?
At 1700 Friday 12th May we will have a kick off session in the Fenner 052/65 Computer Lab. You may
have allocated places depending on your team size.
My computer is amazing, can I bring it?
Yes you can, but it is wholly your responsibility. Everyone is also responsible for ensuring that the lab
is left in the manner that it was found (or better). If it isn’t then it is likely that we won’t be allowed
to do it again.
When can I go home?
The judging will take place at 1500 on Saturday 13th May. The judges will make their way around the
teams and you will have 3 minutes to pitch your game. You will also have to create a 3 minute video
of your game. The judges will shortlist games for the final judging that will take place in Robert
Blackburn Lecture Theatre A at 1600. The videos of the shortlisted games will be shown to everyone
and the teams will be prepared to answer questions about their game.
And, to answer the actual question, it should all be done and dusted by 1700.
Important dates
Date
Monday 24th April
Wednesday 3rd May
Wednesday 10th May 1400
Friday 12th May 1400 - 1600
Friday 12th May 1700
Saturday 13th May 1500
Saturday 13th May 1700
Event
Registration opens
Registration closes
Thing Distribution Event – RBB_LTA
Monogame / Unity Talks guest speakers
Applied Science Large Lecture Theatre.
Three Thing Kick-off – Fenner 052/65
Judging begins
Go away.