Moray Game Jam looks to power-up North East creative talent

Teams of emerging game developers are heading for Moray Game Jam with the industry event now in its fifth year. Creatives will aim to come up with a brand new game in just 48-hours as the teams of five pit their skills against the cream of north east talent.

Moray College UHI is once again the venue with last year seeing around 100 budding game developers - many of whom were based in Moray - taking part in the competition which could ultimately open a window to the wider gaming world.

Speaking to MFR News, Andrew Mulholland, director at Elgin's Hunted Cow Studios, says it's a great spotlight for their business and developers of games in the North East.

"I think gaming has become a lot more mainstream. Back when I was a kid it was seen as a bit geeky but now everyone's playing games on their phones. Even my Mum enjoys Candy Crush!"

Obviously the weekend's challenge at Moray Game Jam is considerably more intensive than the usual process of game creation.

"I could see in a few years time a system where games are just streamed into your TV" - Andrew Mulholland, Hunted Cow Studios

Andrew says: "The development time alone can take one-to-two years, but it's good that we've got a solid base of developers in Scotland"

"The industry shifts so fast, a lot has been moving to mobile, but ultimately I could see in a few years time a system where games are just streamed into your TV in a similar way to something like Netflix"

Last year's winners Alan Yeats and Gary McCartan, created a virtual reality game called Pocket Sized Guns.

Alan says: "I've been doing Moray Game Jam for the last three years so winning it was an amazing feeling"

"Winning is not the best part of the jam though, it's being able to see people enjoying something you've created and playing other games that have been made over the last 48 hours"

"We've moved on a bit from winning. The game itself has been ported over to other platforms including the PlayStationVR and has been demoed at PlayStation development days XpoNorth and other events around the country"

You can keep up to date with the event on Facebook Twitter or also the website