WorldSkills UK Game Jam: Showcasing Talent in Game Design 

WorldSkills UK hosted an exciting benchmarking event, Game Jam, that brought together talented learners across the nation to demonstrate their skills in game design. The event took place from 21-25 October 2024, with participants competing in teams of two to four. 

27 remarkable teams took part in this immersive experience, following a set brief to design and develop a high-quality game, applying fundamental design skills and creatively implementing key features such as movement and speed. Through this hands-on experience, learners gained valuable industry skills in game development, supporting them to enhance readiness for employment and/or higher-level competitions.  

“

Dan McCabe (Senior Vehicle Artist at Cloud Imperium Games and WorldSkills Senior Champions Trust Representative -Europe) said: “The experience of working on this game jam and seeing the learners implement what I taught—often building upon it—clearly demonstrates that vocational education is critical for motivating young people to learn key skills.

The skills they learned during this project are transferable to many industries, including architecture, graphic design, film, VFX, VR, and more. The soft skills they developed while working together—thinking critically about how to build their levels in an engaging way and overcoming the inevitable challenges and problems this creative discipline presents—are applicable not only in every industry but in every part of life.

‘Shocked’ is the word I would use to describe the results of these game jams. I honestly cannot believe how well everyone has done, and I’m so proud of each participant, whether they submitted a full project or simply enjoyed generating ideas. It inspires me to keep working on initiatives like this.

The WorldSkills UK Game Jam highlights the importance of skill development in the digital sector while fostering a spirit of collaboration and innovation among the next generation of game designers.

Congratulations to everyone who took part! Below are the teams that placed in the top 3. The leaderboard with all the results is below.

Screenshots of the first-place team design, Crash Out

Screenshots of the second-place team design, COLC

Screenshots of the third-place team design, Speedrun (Cheese and Crackers) 

Leaderboard

To recognise their participation and skills, all learners will receive a digital credential, providing them with formal acknowledgement of their achievements.

It was fantastic to have Cloud Imperium Games join us as part of the judging process.

Alberto Petronio, Lead (Vehicle) Concept Artist at Cloud Imperium Games said “The Game Jam was a great experience. It was impressive to see how much creativity and skill the Students brought to their projects in such a short time. Me and the other judges loved seeing the variety and originality in each game, which made our job challenging in the best way. Events like this really benefit students by giving them hands-on experience in problem solving, teamwork, and game design, valuable skills that can boost both their confidence and experience for the field.”

Mark Gibson, Cloud Imperium Games said “Judging the Game Jam and reviewing the work of aspiring developers was an incredible experience. It was fascinating to see how different teams interpreted the same brief and then expressed themselves in unique and creative ways. Events like this are crucial as they provide students with valuable feedback from there potential future colleagues, helping to shape their professional paths and give them the confidence they are on the right track. Completing real games like this not only builds their confidence but also allows them to gain experience in various aspects of game development that they will encounter in the industry. Furthermore, participating in team projects offers insight into collaborative work, which is fundamental in games development and can help ease their transition into a development teams in the future.”

The WorldSkills UK competition-based learning, embeds and sequences a pathway to skills excellence. Access our suit of benchmarking resources and upcoming benchmarking events on our Learning Lab to inspire student and apprentice engagement, confidence, and skill development for success in their studies and future careers.