Norwich Student wins at Ukie Student Game Jam 2024

BA (Hons) Games Art and Design student Charlie O’Shea was awarded Best Moment-to-Moment Gameplay award for his game ‘error404’.

The Ukie Student Game Jam is a creative challenge for Ukie student members to create an original video game in 32 hours. Participants in the Jam created games around the theme of ‘integrity’, set by Ukie in partnership with Playground Games. Each team of up to six students was paired with an industry mentor to guide and support them through the Game Jam. Over 165 students took part across 40 teams, with 37 games submitted at the end of the challenge.

Charlie was one of a handful of Norwich University of the Arts student teams taking on the Jam. His game ‘error404‘ takes you inside your computer to perform an integrity check. Using a range of weapons the player is tasked with destroying all the bugs in the system, upgrading stats as they go. Charlie claiming the Best Moment-to-Moment Gameplay award is even more impressive given he was one of only a few participants to be taking on the game jam on his own.

The judges said of Charlie’s game: ‘error404 is fun to play, simple to pick up, and has a smooth and polished feel. The movement has the right amount of ‘bounce’ to it, the UI guides the player, and the power-ups add depth. The weapons feel distinct, offering replayability and an elegant way to personalise the experience. It has that ‘d’oh! restart’ secret sauce that makes a game hard to put down.’

Ukie is the trade association for the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry. They represent businesses from micro studios to multinationals, developers, publishers and service companies, working across online, mobile, console, PC, esports and immersive.