On the weekend of August 26, Bitforest — a non-profit organization sponsored by Innovate Oregon — hosted a game jam at RAIN. At game jams, individuals and teams come together to create games from scratch in 48 to 72 hours, all based on a specific theme. Around 2000 games from around the world are expected to be entered in this peer-judged competition.

People from all walks of life — students, hobbyists, and professionals from studios like Pipeworks and Disney — got together on Friday evening and started work at 6 PM, when the theme (“Ancient Technology”) was announced. From that group, four games were created by Sunday afternoon, including an abstract puzzle game involving 3D cubes and an alien language, a text adventure for mobile devices, a game about Jesus traveling through time to save the world, and a game for four players who get to drive around rolling siege weapons called ballistas and blow each other up!

Bitforest hosts at least four game jams a year, and has done so for the past three years. The space at RAIN was by far the most accommodating to high-intensity creative work, and we were grateful to be able to use it.

You can find links to more information about our group at Bitforest.co