Students of the Animation Game Design (AGD) program at Kent State University at Tuscarawas participated in the annual Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) Arcade Game Jam. The event took place virtually Monday, August 2, through Saturday, August 7, 2021. Participants were challenged to showcase their skills by creating a brand-new game.
This is the seventh year of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s annual event, having gained national and international artists’ participation along the way. Each year, the SAAM Arcade is centered around a theme—this year’s being Building Community, Embracing Individuality. Game developers were invited to gather and create new games in a short amount of time, working alone or in teams, testing their skills in design, development and creativity.
“Each year when the event opens, families, tour groups, and even some non-gamers coincidentally visiting the museum wander in,” said Chris Totten, AGD assistant professor, founder of Pie For Breakfast Studios, and co-founder of the SAAM Arcade, who has been involved with the event since in inception in 2014. “Among my favorite sights are people of different backgrounds playing games together, connecting over shared game experiences, or introducing someone who’s never played a video game to their first of many. It’s a reunion of old friends as much as a meeting of new ones.”
Four Kent State AGD students participated in the SAAM Arcade Game Jam this year, including Titus Morrison, Marissa Gyorki, Megan Gyorki and Jen Ha.
All entries for the SAAM Arcade Game Jam, including the Kent State Animation Game Design students’ entry “The Capybarrier,” can be found at https://itch.io/jam/saam-arcade-2021/entries.
Visit https://americanart.si.edu/events/saam-arcade for more information about the event.
To learn more about Kent State University’s Bachelor of Science degree in Animation Game Design, visit www.kent.edu/tusc/animation-game-design.