Iqaluit talent shines bright at Nunavut Game Jam

While a recent game jam hosted by Pinnguaq’s Iqaluit Makerspace led to the development of two games, the biggest victory might have been boosting the participants’ confidence in their digital skills.

Running from Jan. 29 through Jan. 31, the Nunavut Global Game Jam was hosted out of Pinnguaq’s Iqaluit Makerspace and attended by six members of the community, three of whom were students from Inuksuk High School. 

“Through the jam, participants created art, composed music, developed stories and coded two games,” says Alex Smithers, Manager of Computers for Success Nunavut and primary Pinnguaq representative with the game jam, accompanied virtually by Logan MacDonald, Computers for Success Intern.

“The weekend was filled with fun and laughter as we discussed wacky game ideas and some suspect art. Fueled by pizza and snacks (thanks CanCode!), spirits were high from Friday night to the game deadline at 5 p.m. Sunday. In the end, participants said they’d learned a lot about game development, and had discovered that it was an activity they could participate in and contribute to. Everybody seemed keen to try out new ideas and build upon the skills they learned through future jamming.”

Global Game Jam

Global Game Jam is an organization that has existed since 2008 and holds annual game jam events. Each year, jam sites are created around the world and participants create games based on a theme announced at the beginning of the jam. Jam sites have been hosted in more than 100 countries where thousands of games have been created.  Nunavut Global Game Jam was registered with Global Game Jam in early January as an official jam site for GGJ 2021.

This specific event was sponsored by Pinnguaq, who provided both staffing for the event and allowed the Iqaluit Makerspace to be used to host the event.  Computers for Success Nunavut contributed computers that were used by some participants to create their games. CanCode funding was used to provide a pizza dinner for the youth participants on the opening day and provide snacks throughout the weekend.

The Games

Participants of the jam formed two teams, the Wildcatz and Team Kuusta-paw. Over the course of the event, each team created their own game using a variety of storytelling and digital skills.

The Wildcatz created a game titled “Snow Rescue” in which you play as Charlie who must battle anxiety while snowmobiling out on the tundra as part of a search and rescue team. The game was built in Scratch and consists of side-scrolling levels of increasing difficulty where you drive your snow-mobile, collect items, dodge obstacles and even have to avoid villainous snowmen. The team created all original art, composed an intricate story that is weaved into the action and even composed all original music that can be heard throughout!

Team Kuusta-paw created a game titled “Find Poster Nutbag”, an RPG style adventure taking place in Iqaluit.  As a player in Find Poster Nutbag, you wake up one morning to find that your dog Poster Nutbag has gone missing and you must traverse town to find him.  Along the way you’ll visit iconic Iqaluit landmarks such as QuickStop, The Road to Nowhere and Inuksuk High School and meet some townsfolk. The game was created using Unity and also features original art art and music.

Both games are available to play online through Pinnguaq’s Itch.io page. 

Participants’ Point of View

For the participants, the jam was an opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and engage in an activity they may not have otherwise had the chance to explore. Some of them noted the event even helped them learn about themselves. 

“I had a lot of fun participating in the Global Game Jam. I learned that I was good at pixel art. I had always thought, but now I know that I’m good at making music.  I learned that making games is a lot of fun and hope to do it again in the future,” says Cole Tucker, a high school student. 

He also said he told many of his friends at school about the event and they were excited to participate in the next jam. 

For others, the weekend shone a new light on the tasks themselves.

“It was cool, I learned a lot from it, like that programming isn’t always just scripting,” says Adam Guimond-Pishuktie.

Courtney, another student participant, spoke of how the time constraints of the event allowed her to sidestep the pressures of perfectionism. As such, she was able to have fun and experiment in ways she might not have otherwise.

An Educator’s Perspective

“I had a lot of fun! I loved having the opportunity to create a game set in Iqaluit and tell local stories. I liked meeting new people in the community that I wouldn’t have otherwise and that we were brought together by a shared storytelling project,” says Lael Kronick, a teacher at Inuksuk High School.

“Through participating I was able to learn about photo editing, digital art and animation in the context of a game. I hadn’t realized how many different roles are involved in making a game and how anybody can contribute, even if they don’t have technical skills.”

Kronick says she was particularly inspired by the talent of the high school students who participated and looks forward to seeing what they create next. 

“As a teacher it was wonderful to see these youth in a different context and see their creativity and skills shine through a medium that they don’t always have an opportunity to explore at the school. I was impressed by the amount of work they put in, their independence and their excitement to learn new things.  I hope they can find more opportunities to continue learning game development and showcase talent and creativity.”

Next Level

Smithers says the Nunavut Game Jam proved to him there are numerous stories to tell in the Iqaluit community but due to the restraints of the event, both teams were only able to touch on the complex stories prepared for their games. He looks forward to hosting another jam in the future and says based on the response from participants and the community at large, it seems like the momentum behind these events will only continue to grow.

“Everyone mentioned how it was a lot of fun and the event was well received by the community,” says Smithers, noting high engagement in the town’s Facebook group.

“I think people liked seeing accomplishments of local talent and their community as well as their environment being represented in the game format.”

As for the greatest takeaway from the jam, Smithers says it was the personal development of those involved.

“Perhaps the most significant outcome of the event was that participants emphasized how participation demonstrated to them that they have skills that may not have been realized otherwise. They feel more confident in their digital skills and learned that game development is a pursuit that is available to them,” says Smithers. 

“Cole, Courtney and JJ (the third high school student who took part) are all talented digital artists and participation in the game jam helped display their work.”

Smithers says the event really highlighted the talent in Iqaluit and provided an outlet for community members to tell stories about their environment. It also connected Pinnguaq with Cole and JJ who have since joined the team as paid interns with Computers for Success Nunavut, aiding in computer refurbishment.