Player 1 Wins! NFTS Announces Winners Of First-Ever Public Game Jam
This month the National Film and Television School Games Department was excited to launch our Game Poems Jam, an opportunity for our students and people around the world to compete in building a game in just 24 hours and today, we're excited to announce the winners!
The first-ever public game jam the School has hosted brought pioneer of the emerging genre of Game Poems, Jordan Magnuson, as collaborator to help launch and judge the competition.
On 7 September, the Game Poem Jam was officially launched with the theme ‘The Other One’ and by 12pm the following day we had received an incredible 91 submissions!
In the following weeks, NFTS Head of Games Design & Development, Andre Van Rooijen, welcomed an illustrious panel of guests to judge the submissions, including game designer, academic, writer and founding editor of Game Poems Magazine Jordan Magnuson; games industry veteran and former President and Head of PlayStation Indies, Shuhei Yoshida; and narrative designer, writer and voice director on ZA/UM Studio's Disco Elysium, Cash DeCuir.
Several NFTS Games alumni also joined the panel: game designer, Professor in Video Games at Rome University of Fine Arts, Claudio Pollina; freelance screenwriter, narrative designer and story architect, Jenna Jovi; and game designer/lead producer on State of Play's South of the Circle and ustwo games’ Monument Valley III, John Lau.
The panel had the privilege of delving into the wealth of poems our participants created. Andre Van Rooijen said, “We experienced a wide range of interpretations of our theme, ‘The Other One’, from the deeply personal to the very funny, the quirky, the mesmerizing, thoughtful and the playful.”
The industry experts first played and narrowed down the 91 entries to a shortlist, then reviewed and voted for their top three.
Jenna Jovi said, "Being new to the world of game poems, I was a little unsure what to expect. Now I'm a total convert! The quality and variety on offer was impressive. Some real stand-outs which fully embraced the theme and form, turning a few minutes' play into a deeply felt sense of connection or disconnection."
Shuhei Yoshida added, "Judging for the Game Poems Jam was a breeze!”
Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2026 NFTS Game Poems Jam!
- 3rd Place
Dot | By Kozmozist
A good poem speaks for itself. The real question is, how did this game poem make you feel?
The judges said:
“A game about a lonely dot in a sea of smaller dots. The experience of movement is beautiful, it feels like skating. We catch glimpses of another dot the same size as ourselves, but this elusive ‘other’ always flits away. After a time, it doesn't move away, and we run along together, side-by-side. Soon, the other dots are swirling around us as we race together, only for the other dot to eventually speed off again, leaving us alone. We search, but we do not find our friend again. A very impactful, beautiful little experience with a real connection to ‘The Other One’.”- 2nd Place
Faulty Mirror | By Kevin Fungus
There’s something up with this mirror
The judges said:
“This poem is fun! Baffling! A great use of a mirror as the 'other'. The mechanics felt simultaneously super intuitive and super un-intuitive, to great effect. You try to make sense, you get it, and then you don’t. What’s going on here? The audio is nicely complementary.”- 1st Place
The Other One | By Boronho
How much does another truly matter? Will you ache for him, though your paths have never crossed? Will a sense of loss linger, even if his very existence is but a ghost? Discover it for yourself—but will you even survive seven days?
The judges said:
“You play as a prisoner, able only to move around your cell and sit down, waiting for seven days to pass over roughly twenty minutes of real time. The enforced wait and limited actions create frustration, which gradually gives way to stillness and reflection. Then you discover that you can tap the radiator and make a sound, only to find that someone else is responding by playing back your sequence. This connection with “The Other One” breaks the monotony and brings joy to your solitary confinement, until things change. A captivating exploration into our need to relate and communicate, and where it leaves us when we can’t.”
Huge congratulations to our winners – make sure we have your contact details and we’ll be in touch to send your Steam voucher prizes!
- The judges also loved...
one | By Han Solo, xrxs
one only comes to exist through “the other”.Please Clap. | By Spacespy
Read the room.The Other Line | By Sunfarer
Queuing for…happiness?The False City | By Gabriel Helfenstein
The Fugly Fish | By .iris labs
ask a special fish out on a datethe imago | By damonstea
A game poem about compassion, childhood and insectsstill life | By miserytourism
phys-i-OG, know meThe Call | By leo
a game poem about a phonecall
All submissions are available to play on the NFTS Game Poem Jam page: itch.io/jam/nfts-game-poems-jam/entries
The National Film and Television School would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part in our first-ever game jam and to our incredible panel of judges for dedicating their time to playing and reviewing all of the entries!
We’re looking forward to seeing you again next year…
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