SEM JAM 2025: One Game, Infinite Creativity for 72 Hour

From February 21st to 23rd, 2025, the halls of SCCM turned into a high-energy hive of creativity as DICE Club hosted SEM JAM 2025—a three-day, overnight game development marathon designed for gaming students who dared to build something amazing, from scratch, in just 72 hours.

This wasn’t a sit-down-and-listen kind of workshop. SEM JAM was a full-on, stay-over creative sprint. For three days and two nights, students camped out with their teams, working around the clock to brainstorm, build, test, and refine their own original games. It was chaotic, intense, and incredibly fun.

Each team—made up of five students with different specializations like programming, game design, art, and storytelling—was given a theme and a few creative constraints during the opening ceremony. From there, it was all hands on deck. The challenge was simple but ambitious: take a brand-new idea and turn it into a playable game in 72 hours.

The environment was electric. Teams could be found huddled around whiteboards, laptops glowing at 2 a.m., debugging code with bleary eyes and contagious excitement. There were nightly check-ins, snack breaks, and even surprise mini-workshops by industry mentors and senior students who dropped by to share tips on rapid prototyping and game design. These little moments often sparked big breakthroughs.

The final day was the highlight. Each group took the stage to showcase their game in front of peers, lecturers, and invited guests. The variety was mind-blowing—from quirky indie-style puzzle games to intense co-op adventures, all built in just three days. Awards were handed out for Best Gameplay, Most Creative Concept, and Audience Favorite—but honestly, every team walked away a winner.

What made SEM JAM 2025 truly special wasn’t just the games—it was the sense of community. Students cheered each other on, helped solve bugs across teams, and built friendships that will no doubt last well beyond university. That shared experience of late-night brainstorming, unexpected crashes, and last-minute fixes gave everyone a small taste of the real-world game dev grind—and the magic that happens when creative minds come together.

Huge thanks to every student who participated with heart and hustle, the mentors who dropped golden advice at just the right time, and the DICE Club team who coordinated everything so seamlessly behind the scenes. You made it more than just a jam—you made it a memory.

SEM JAM 2025 showed us what’s possible when passion meets pressure in the best way. We can’t wait to see what these students do next—and we’ll be ready to support the next big jam, late nights and all.

For more highlights, behind-the-scenes photos, and future game-related events, follow along on Instagram or connect with me on LinkedIn. Here’s to more late-night builds, creative chaos, and the next generation of game changers.