Overview
In my latest term teaching Interaction Design, I set up 20 students and 6 industry veterans from studios like BuffaloBuffalo and Electronic Arts to collaborate in a production-focused hackathon as a part of the class itself. As someone who has been teaching university-level design courses for the past year, I wanted to push beyond traditional academic boundaries and create something that mirrored real studio dynamics.
The four-week intensive challenged four student teams to develop games with both purpose and impact. The approach created deliberate tension between commercial game development practices and independent creation while tackling socially meaningful themes. Four distinct games emerged, each refined through multiple testing and feedback cycles. Pushing this forward, half our teams are now preparing to showcase their work at a major Vancouver indie game convention and submit for the Games 4 Change student challenge.
Role
Faculty Lead
Team
6x Designer Leads (EA & BuffaloBuffalo)
1x Venture Lead (Shumka Centre)
1x Faculty Lead
Year
2025
Process
Integrating industry into curriculum
The hackathon's success stemmed from thoughtful curriculum design that authentically integrated industry practices:
Each student team received a unique prompt co-created by industry experts and faculty, carefully calibrated to balance playability with purpose. These weren't academic exercises; they were challenges designed to mirror the constraints and opportunities of real game development.
The four-week structure alternated between collaborative sessions with industry mentors and focused lectures covering game theory, analytical frameworks, and case studies. Industry professionals served dual roles: mentors for creative direction and facilitators helping teams adopt professional production methodologies.
By the final presentations, each student group acted as a functioning indie game studio, complete with pitches that could stand up in professional settings.
Learning objectives
We evaluated each team against industry-relevant criteria:
Game UX Application: Adapt user experience methodologies to specific project briefs
Project Management: Define scope, timelines, requirements, and communication strategies
Team Dynamics: Understand specialized production roles (Visual Artist, Narrative Designer, Level Designer, etc.)
Game Frameworks: Apply industry frameworks to both design and development processes
Pre-Production: Develop, pitch, and refine game concepts before full development
Tools & Methods
The teams leveraged professional-grade tools including:
Unity: From VR toolkit implementation to comprehensive level design and 2D platformer development
3D Printing: Physical game components fabricated through 3D printing and laser cutting
Large Format Printing: Custom prints bringing illustrated game themes to life in card/board games
Teams & Prompts
Each team functioned as an emerging indie studio, tackling these prompts:
Twilight Zone: How can immersive spaces help induce flow states and reduce anxiety through non-verbal interactions?
SnowCone Studios: How can a multiplayer educational tool help us nurture environmental conservation strategies?
O2: How can two distinctly different genres come together to generate innovative hybrid experiences?
404: How can tangible products act as a medium for collaborative storytelling and build interpersonal bonds?
One More Moment therapeutic VR experience by Twilight Zone
Polar Panic board game by SnowCone Studios
Event Horizon 2D escape room platformer by O2
Tale LP collaborative storytelling card game by 404
Game show day - Student teams, Industry mentors, faculty lead (me)
Outcome
3 intensive work sessions with professional game studios
12 gamified course sessions blends theoretical foundations with hands-on practice
4 production-ready game demos (2 physical board/card games, 1 VR experience, 1 2D platformer)
100% student engagement throughout the entire production process
Industry recognition: Team O2 prepares for Vancouver indie game convention showcase; Twilight Zone refines their first independent VR release and upcoming games for impact challenge
Cross-disciplinary impact: Insights from the hackathon informed university-wide initiatives at the Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship and Basically Good Media Lab