OGPC Game Jams and the Main Event

Starting in 2012 we are offering two distinct but related OGPC events:

  • OGPC Game Jams in Portland and Eugene — These one-day events provide teams of high-school and middle-school students an opportunity to create a design document and paper prototype of a videogame based on the OGPC annual theme. These events will be held on March 10, 2012 in Portland and on March 17, 2012 in Eugene. The Game Jam is the perfect way to kick off your game design efforts and learn from industry experts how professional games are designed.
  • The OGPC Main Event in Salem — This is the original OGPC statewide game programming event. This will be held on April 28, 2012 at Chemeketa Community College. In 2012 we are dramatically changing the event to place more emphasis on fun, creativity, and interaction with peers and professionals.

OGPC 2012 Theme

Our theme for OGPC 5.0 is Urban Planning. We crafted a short narrative to set some context. This is intended to inspire teams, not to constrain them so feel free to explore other paths to align with this theme.

The city of Oregonia is bursting at the seams. Because of a lack of early urban planning, the city is dealing with the legacy of poor decisions and now faces heavy traffic, long commutes, poor access to social services, and a decaying inner city. Can you turn back the clock and write a new future for Oregonia that leads to a harmonious urban plan? Or perhaps you can introduce revolutionary change and help guide Oregonia to a better future.

Here are some idea starters for your game design:

  • Explore the historical development of Oregonia with an urban planning simulation game where the player is responsible for laying out city components (roads and other infrastructure, social services, housing) in an attempt to balance social and economic constraints. Example: SimCity
  • Create a puzzle game where players must re-arrange aspects of the city to achieve a more “pleasing” urban plan. Example: City Rain
  • Create a first-person shooter style game where the player is a city planner or surveyer looking for zoning violations and urban planning offenders.
  • Design a tower defense game where the player lays out a city plan to defend against rampant real estate developers bent on corrupting the urban plan.
  • Design a roleplaying game where the player is a city planner or architect. Complete quests by solving social, economic, or infrastructure challenges brought on by urban planning challenges.

And yes, we are certain teams can find a way to incorporate zombie killing into an urban planning setting. Why go down this boring path when you can explore new territory? Be creative!