Video game development is an intriguing space, as it’s a mix of both creativity and technical skills. While creativity does not ask for much, since everyone is unique in their own way. However, on the other hand, the technical side requires the know-how of coding, meaning a strong computer background.
This has been a long-running problem within the gaming industry. Developing a video game from scratch has required building technical skills to support your journey. However, it appears that someone is attempting to address this issue, and surprisingly, it comes from the sandbox platform, Roblox.
While a large gaming base may not consider Roblox to be for serious gamers, instead being targeted more at a casual crowd, they are aiming for something bigger.
Recently, Games for Change India collaborated with Roblox and IIT Delhi, where over 80 students from 13 colleges across Delhi NCR participated in a game jam. The premise of the event was simple: you have 2 days and access to the Roblox game creator, and the students have to make something that helps people be safer and kinder online.
Given that we are talking about college students, they obviously had no prior game development experience. But even then, upon completion of the event, 21 teams had shipped completely playable games on Roblox. The two days at IIT Delhi were not just a game jam but also a live demonstration of how easy it is to make video games today.
Also Read: Someone built a client for GeForce NOW, and it seems better than the original
First and foremost, understanding the choice of selecting Roblox for the game jam was essential, as for many, including myself, the choice felt kind of odd at first. However, it’s crucial to understand that Roblox, despite its past controversies, is part of a larger context.
Angad Singh Malik, Chapter Lead of Games for Change India, explained the choice of Roblox in a simple way. He explained that Roblox is a sandbox where the possibilities are endless, and the accessibility argument runs deeper than just affordability.
Roblox’s game development engine is very simple to understand for even those who have no coding knowledge. It starts with basic, drag-and-drop tools and goes further beyond as you level up your skills. Not only that, but the community around it is also huge, as there are a ton of people who develop games for Roblox. Meaning that you can get help through forums and platforms like Reddit and start your journey from there.
The platform’s choice causes a shift beyond just the platform. It is about how the newer generations of students have begun to approach making things.
During the panel discussion, there was a lot of talk around the much-hyped vibe coding. A few of the students whom I got to interact with were very pro-AI in this regard. As most of them explained, they are much more focused on their game concept rather than trying to find technical challenges, which would not have been the case a few years ago.
Aakash Johry, Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at IIT Delhi and Director of the G.A.M.E.S. Lab, said, “Nowadays, when we discuss the concepts, they already start coming up with rough prototypes on their own,” and he further suggested that “you just need to guide them to the right tools.”
Moving on, let’s further dive in and understand what the students were actually doing over at the game jam. I got to interact with various teams, and it showed how differently each team was approaching game building, along with the usage of AI. For example, one of the teams leaned heavily into AI for various tasks like coding, concept art and brainstorming. They were using AI to compress the gap between idea and execution.
“For vibe coding, I use AI, and for concept generation — brainstorming — we also use AI,” one member said. Furthermore, suggesting that, “It’s not completely that we take whatever there is and put it in the game. We think about it and then create our own using that idea.”
While it would be easy to dismiss a student game jam, as many wouldn’t take the games seriously, it goes well beyond that. It is safe to say that once you remove a single barrier like coding here, the heights of creativity reach the next level, and the entries on the event prove this point.
Students had been asked to reach into their own experiences of toxicity, loneliness and being cheated online at the start of the event, and that showed up in the games built by them.
There was a game that had been built around substance abuse through the lens of a paramedic. Not only that, but there was also a survival game where collaboration was the literal mechanic for getting through the game. Yet another unique game I found was a co-op game where players had to defend their ship while navigating scams, misinformation and loneliness, using game mechanics to model the trust-building that online communities demand.
The game jam sits inside a larger conversation about where Indian game development will move forward. While it is true that there is a clear dominance of mobile gaming, that is more of a hardware accessibility story, as it is the most accessible device for most of the population.
But Angad and Johry suggest that the ecosystem is shifting. There is a new wave of indie Indian studios that are beginning to ship titles with a distinct identity that captures India with a different lens. Johry pointed to what could come next in the Indian gaming scenario and suggested that “JRPGs are Japanese role-playing games because Japan is famous for them. India could have its own genres or gameplay mechanics that we are famous for.”
During the closing ceremony, Angad Singh Malik, reflecting on the two days of the game jam, said: “What we saw over these two days was not just talent, but intent.” While game jams are common across India and the entire world, events such as this one are unique.
The students who shipped the games at IIT Delhi were not just learning to build; they were learning to think about why building games is important. And given the current game development scenario, where the tools are increasingly getting out of the way, that might be the most important skill of all.
Also Read: “We didn’t expect it”: KRX HYUNMIN talks about tough kickoff and Valorant Pacific