30 Apr 2020
The Coronavirus outbreak has got a lot of us spending more time at home than ever before, young people out of school especially. For everyone’s continued safety, these measures are essential, but a huge change in a lot of people’s lives.
One of the amazing things about working with the games industry is it's ability to help keep people entertained and engaged during this time! With this in mind, Into Games has launched Side Quest with the aim of getting 100,000 young people involved in game development.
"Stuck indoors? Design your own video game in 7 days through practical quests delivered by some of the UK’s biggest games studios, with live masterclasses, free software and a supportive online community."
They’ve thought hard about making the scheme as accessible as possible with absolutely no programming skills and no high-powered PCs required. In fact, owning a PC isn’t even necessary with the paper prototyping worksheets available for those without access to a computer.
Tutorials are being provided by industry experts from the likes of Sumo Digital, Creative Assembly and Sports Interactive, and participants will have free access to GameMaker Studio 2, provided by YoYo Games. There will also be a weekly streamed master class from Industry professionals as well as community support. A Discord community has been built with the idea of providing help and feedback to everyone involved.
Side Quest are launching their first 'Quest' on Monday 4th of May, giving participants seven days to create a game based on the theme set by Sumo Digital.
"We all need to stay home to stay safe at the moment, but what does that mean for the unseen creatures who share our living spaces? Perhaps not all of them are engaging in international espionage, but how are weevils coping with the flour shortage, and how are woodlice showing their support for the NHS? Game Jam themes are all about lateral thinking, so we encourage you to interpret the theme as creatively as you like!"
We're thrilled to be supporting this initiative. Not only is it a great way to learn a new skill while in lockdown, but we think this is going to inspire the next generation of game developers to learn more about the industry, get some practical skills and feedback.
Side Quest is free, and always will be - there is no barrier to entry to anyone aged 13 to 17 who wants to get involved and learn some game development skills!
Check out the Side Quest website for more details on how to sign up.
If you're reading this and you'd love for your studio to get involved, let us know!
Keep Calm and waka waka...
