GRAND was a sponsor of last weekend’s well-attended Vancouver Global Game Jam (VGGJ) hosted at the University of British Columbia campus.

The 48-hour programming marathon attracted a record 273 talented developers, artists and engineers who collaborated with industry mentors to create playable games from scratch. The event was the largest of 270 concurrent jams with over 16,000 participants in 63 countries around the world.

GRAND also provided coders at the Game Jam with new eye tracking software being developed by McGill University researchers. Four Vancouver teams made creative use of the software, and one team made progress in developing a multiplayer game of “freeze tag” entitled "Boo Urns.”

For VGGJ organizer Dr. Kimberley Voll, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Digital Media, the use of new, interactive technology was an exciting addition to this year’s jam.

"GRAND provided us with some experimental software that jammers were able to use in their games that allowed players to interface in new ways,” said Voll. “I'm really looking forward to bringing in even more tech next year to inspire people. [There’s] nothing better than a room full of intensely creative, innovative and industrious people to see what your technology can really do!"