On Wednesday, May 9, Jam City Sponsored the inaugural USC Games Expo hosted by the University of Southern California School of Interactive Media and Games Division and the Viterbi Computer Science GamePipe Program. The event brought together, for the first time, interactive projects and initiatives under one room with over 80 new games and digital projects from students and faculty from the #1 Video Game School in North America.
Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe—a USC alumni himself—opened the inauguration at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theater to a packed house and offered students and their families encouraging words about the current state of the gaming industry and what graduating students can expect as they embark on their careers.
“The one thing I learned at USC was to follow what you’re really passionate about. We should all keep following our passions,” said Chris DeWolfe.
Following DeWolfe’s keynote, 7 game teams from the Advanced Games Program were given a spotlight to introduce their projects and show off gameplay. The demos were an artistic thrill ride into the imaginations of the next generation of game developers. From virtual reality experiences to puzzle simulations, futuristic battle arenas to comedic adventures, the students’ quality of the games showed why USC retains the position as the #1 Gaming School in North America and assures players around the world that the future of gaming is in good hands.
Chris DeWolfe pictured with the creators of One Hand Clapping, a musical game that required players to sing into a microphone to solve puzzles.
The creators of Friendshrimp, a whimsical game based on the mantis shrimp, the animal with the strongest punch in the world.
The creators of Sky Command, a VR game that has players piloting a stolen ammunitions ship.
After the demos inside the Norris theater concluded, the Expo kicked off around campus where students premiered over 80 games across a variety of categories including Virtual Reality games, Console games, and Board and Card games to over 1,000 people in attendance.
Congratulations to all of the participants at the Expo and thank you to the University of Southern California for allowing Jam City to sponsor!
