PULLMAN, WA – More than 100 Washington State University students recently came together to test their creativity, coding skills, and teamwork during the third annual Crimson Game Jam, a 48-hour event where participants design and build video games entirely from scratch.
The event, hosted by WSU’s Game Development Club, drew students from a wide range of disciplines who participated both in person and virtually. Similar to a hackathon, the event allows participants to team up or compete individually to create a piece of software during a set period of time. At WSU’s event, 40 teams worked to develop a video game centered around the theme, ‘All at Once.’
“It was really fun to see how different teams applied the theme to their games,” said club president Martin Hundrup, who helped to organize the event. “Some leaned into it heavily, while others used it more as a creative backdrop.”
Hundrup’s team designed a tower defense game where enemies attacked simultaneously. Other creative takes included a combat game where players had to defeat all enemies in a single move, and even a dating simulator in which the player dated multiple characters “all at once” without getting caught.
Although many participants were computer science or software engineering majors, the Game Jam also attracted students from backgrounds in digital technology and culture, animal science, English literature and art history. Hundrup emphasized that game development is a multidisciplinary effort that goes far beyond programming.
“You need a story, visuals, sound, and gameplay design,” he said. “It’s not just about coding. It’s about creativity, collaboration, and managing scope within a short deadline.”
The final games are uploaded to itch.io, a developer-friendly website that hosts indie games and creative software. Participants then play and vote on each other’s projects across several categories, from creativity to execution. Voting remains open for a week after the event, giving everyone time to explore all of the submissions.
Organizing the Game Jam was no small feat for the all-student leadership team of six club officers. From marketing and recruiting to logistics and sponsorships, everything was handled by WSU students.
“It’s tough asking people to give up an entire weekend, especially for something as niche as game development,” Hundrup said. “But once people participate, they realize how fun and rewarding it is.”
This year’s event also featured a special guest speaker Loren Hoffman, a WSU alumnus and developer at Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft.
“Having someone from Mojang talk about how these experiences helped them professionally was really inspiring,” Hundrup said.
The WSU Game Development Club meets weekly throughout the academic year, offering workshops and discussions on topics relating to game design and development. Members can pitch ideas, form teams, and build games over several weeks in preparation for the big event. Hundrup encourages anyone interested in creativity, storytelling, or technology to join the community.
“You don’t need to be a programmer to make games,” he said. “If you can draw, write, design, or even just want to learn, there’s a place for you here.”
For more information, visit WSU Game Development Club, or join their Discord.
