Inspired by the legacy of the ancestors, Nomad Game Jam members create the future of the gaming industry

Young game developers congratulate The Best Juniors team from Alikhan Bokeikhan University, which won the republican video game developers festival "Nomad Game Jam SU 2024", held in Almaty. The prizes were shared with the winners by the teams of IT College (Innovative Technical College) and Murakami Cult (Funcode and De Montfort University Kazakhstan).

"Nomad Game Jam SU 2024" is an exciting team competition of young game developers from different fields who gather once a year to create games for 48 hours and compete for a prize fund of 3,000,000 tenge. The festival was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry and People's Bank of Kazakhstan. For the young developers and student volunteers who helped organize the festival, Nomad Game Jam was an unforgettable experience that they shared with us.

Nurik from IUIT and Syrym from KBTU: "It was very cool, a lot of new acquaintances. We already have experience in creating games - we will announce our project soon, but we believe that such a festival is a good opportunity to prove ourselves."

Dana and Maria from Zhurgenov KazNAA: "We are artists and this was our first experience of creating a game. We decided to create a visual novel about nomads and this is the first game that we were able to finish in principle. When we went to the jam, we thought it would be scary, uncomfortable, but everything was fine, so thanks to the organizers!"

Anuar from Satbayev University: "It was the first time I organized an event, and it was difficult, but overall I was satisfied. I became more confident in communicating with people, taking the initiative in conversations. And maybe in the future I will also take part in the jam!"

In 2024, the theme of the competition was "Nomads". The participants had to create a game on the theme of steppe history and use in the game the items announced at the beginning of the work by the organizers. The 39 teams that reached the finish line offered many interesting projects - from heroic sagas to time travel.

Five projects were awarded with special awards. Thus, the project of ERAIS48 team (Akhmet Baitursynov Lyceum School, Astana) was awarded as the best school project, and the project of Rikar GS team (Innovative Technical College) was awarded as the best educational project. Kashevary team (Nazarbayev University) was awarded for innovative gameplay mechanics, AITU Boys Band team (Astana IT University) for the best visual style and effects, and Little Stars team (T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts) for the best adaptation and plot of the game.

Azamat Tokpanov, a member of the jury, a game designer at RedPad Games studio, noted the high level of participants:

- Kazakhstan is very short of developers, that is, young, ambitious, interesting people who want to engage in games, - he said. - The guys had only 3 days to develop, you need to be well prepared to create an interesting project in such a short time. Therefore, we are ready to take the best authors for an internship and work with them in the future.

Director of Automation and Information Technology Institute Zhuldyz Kalpeyeva agrees with him, who noted that she was very pleased with the festival results:

"The given jam is proof that we have a lot of talented people who are ready to create something truly unique, - she said. - Many of the games presented have the potential to enter a wide market and I want to believe that the authors will continue to work on new exciting ideas.