PACT awards video games as part of the 1st Alentejo Game Jam
9 June 2023
On June 7th, the closing session and awards ceremony of the Game Jam PACT, the 1st Game Jam of Alentejo, took place.
The event benefited from the sponsorship of relevant companies in the area at national and regional level, such as Recatpig, which is also part of the eGames Lab, Goma Development, an inPACT company, Chip7 from Évora and also Pizzaria Álamos.
After June 2nd, in which the 34 participants were challenged to develop a functional video game in just 10 hours, using the Alentejo as a theme, the “jammers” had the opportunity to get to know each other’s projects and listen to the jury’s feedback.
The judging panel included: Marco Bettencourt, CEO and Founder of Redcatpig, André Lascas, iOS Programmers at Goma Development, António Vieira, CEO at AloUniverse, Paulo Maldonado, Architect and Designer, Director of the Master’s Degree in Design and Full Professor at the University of Évora, and Diogo Teixeira, Founder and Graphics Programmer at Amplify Creations.
The prizes were delivered in technological vouchers and gaming accessories. The trailers of the 3 winning games are available at:
1st Prize – A Voz do Povo, inspired by the words “cante alentejano”, available in https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uzfUO716hUP48zV87nJGjdQlsz90ZuaH/view
2 th Prize – Tipsy Pastor, inspired by the word “flock”, available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xHCi1gaOEUxCgiJ1elfNjyasPI-gIslU/view
3 th Prize – Cardo, inspired by the word “placas”, available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o_8OB_WI2ok54sXq__nk3onkyhcbS6vx/view
Most of the students were from higher education and attended the University of Évora, however the initiative also included students from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and the Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa. Some secondary school students from Évora also participated, namely from the Gabriel Pereira, Severim de Faria and EPRAL schools.
The event featured speeches by Soumodip Sarkar, Executive President of PACT, and Tiago Teotónio Pereira, Executive Member at CCDR Alentejo, as well as some words by the 3 mentors who accompanied the groups throughout the 2nd of June. Sérgio Concha, Professor of Programming and Informatics at EPRAL, Wijnand Merkens, Indie Game Developer, and Pedro Soares, Computer Programming student at EPRAL and curricular intern at PACT, were the names chosen to clarify and assist the groups in this challenge.
The PACT Game Jam took place as part of PACT’s participation in the eGames Lab project, supported by the RRP – Recovery and Resilience Plan, and by the European Next Generation EU Funds. The action was the first initiative of its kind promoted in the region and materializes PACT’s new commitment to the promotion and construction of an eGames industry, at a regional level, associated with which future activities are already planned.
