Biola Game Jam
48 Hours
Of Collaboration
And Competition
About Game Jam
Biola Game Jam is a lighthearted, competitive event hosted semiannually by Biola University’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts. At Game Jam, students and alumni work together to build a video game in 48 hours. This weekend-long event highlights the diverse talents of the Biola community, encourages professional networking, and showcases the power of games to positively shape the world.
Amilcar loved participating in Biola’s first ever Game Jam as a Biola student, and realized the potential of Game Jam to bring people together in unique ways. He committed himself ensuring Biola’s Game Jams would continue for many years to come.
As an alumni, he continues to work alongside the Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts to plan Game Jam by leading the event planning team every semester. Besides working on game projects, he has experience designing promotional material, managing budgets, and hosting the event.
Hosting Game Jam
Amilcar’s Game Jam Projects
Printer Panic
Game Mechanic/Level Design
Comedy Of Errors
Programmer
Tank Together!
Programmer
"Tanks Together!" is a 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 local multiplayer game inspired by 2007's WiiPlay "Tanks!" game. Instead of a semi-cooperative multiplayer game, the built their entire game around fighting your opponent with tanks.
Unreal Engine's TwinSticks Variant was the foundation for the game. A lot of what the team needed regarding how the game would handle players aiming and shooting projectiles was already figured out. Instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel, the team built on what was already working.
The game was designed for two players to control a single tank on a single controller. Up to four players could play together at one time. For a simpler experience, a tank could also be controlled by one player for a two player competition.
A total of twelve maps were designed for the game, each with unique ideas and challenges for each player to overcome.
Players fire projectiles at one another. If a tank is hit by three projectiles, they lose the game! Projectiles will bounce of walls, so this includes their tank's own projectiles!
Pink blocks are destructible blocks. One shot will break them and create a new path for the tanks to tread through.
Around the various arenas are areas of water. Tanks cannot drive through the water, but they can shoot projectiles through them with no problem!
Water sections of the arena stick up out of the ground. Because the team used top-down orthographic cameras, this is hidden during normal gameplay.
This tank model was created for the game. It is made of two different meshes, the main body and the turret. Both parts rotate independently of each other during the game.
One arena was inspired by 1976's "Breakout". The more blocks area broken, the larger the combat space is.
Tanks have additional tools to help win the battle. Tanks have a Smokescreen that can be used once a battle to hide where they are going. They also have a Dash ability that helps them dodge bullets.
At the end of a match, the score is updated and a new map is loaded in.
Comedy of Errors follows a jester falling into something called Madness, readying himself to betray his king.
Players will need to fall in and out of Madness in order to navigate the castle's interior and find the king. Depending on the player's state, different paths in and out of the castle will open and close up.
Switching between these two states of Madness changes the player's camera perspective, control scheme, environment lighting, and more. Unreal Engine's Streaming Levels were used to facilitate some of these changes.
The control scheme was initially going to be inverted whenever the jester character embraced the Madness. After playtesting, the Game Jam team realized in light of all the other gameplay changes that occur when switching states, players were too disoriented. The team pivoted and kept controls consistent, and players were happier with the change.
There are three keys scattered around the castle. Finding them all opens up the way to the king.
This map was built for the game prototype. This version of the map shows all of the obstacles that appear throughout the game.
The jester has reached and is ready to betray the king. When he does, he will fully embrace the Madness.
Printer Panic features a hero with the weapon that can change the colors and properties of blocks around him. He aims to take down The Paper Company that aims to bleed the world dry.
The Magenta makes any block immovable! Our hero uses this color to stop the moving platform, making it safe to jump on.
The Cyan color makes any block slippery! Our hero can slide the block through the gap in the blockade, removing the blockade from his path.
By combining Magenta and Cyan, our hero creates Blue. Blue blocks have a magnetic property that attract other nearby blocks! Our hero can ride block, attracted by a second, faraway block.
Yellow blocks have extra bouncy properties. Our hero can bounce the now yellow ball to activate a switch, allowing him to proceed.
Combing Cyan and Yellow creates Green. Green objects defy gravity and float to the top of the room. There happens to be a button our hero needs to press to enter the final room.
The final room has three buttons, one of which is activated by a Red block. Red blocks are made with Magenta and Yellow, and they hover at the same height when pushed off an edge.
Upon activating the three buttons, our hero defeats the Paper Company! This final level puts our hero's skills to the test.
A larger view of the final level.
A second, opposing view of the final level.
“My favorite part of Game Jam is what happens when the competition is over. There's a profound sense of achievement and accomplishment that everyone feels, knowing we've worked on something meaningful. There's a strong feeling of community, especially. That's something I aim to capture every time we host Game Jam at Biola.”
— Amilcar Fuentes
Want To Collaborate?
Interested in working with Amilcar? Send him your contact info, and he will be in touch within three business days. He’s excited to hear from you!