Business gaming Hackathon to unlock Port of Tyne’s 2050 Vision – 9 October 2023

Hackathon at Maritime Innovation Week 2023 will gamify strategic goals and award cash prizes to developers

Gamers and software developers across the UK are invited to apply their skills to some of the ambitious strategic goals set by the Port of Tyne at a unique business gaming hackathon (also known as Game Jam), taking place at Maritime Innovation Week 2023 on 9th November.

As a forward-looking, port of the future, Port of Tyne has published a very ambitious Tyne 2050 strategy focused on themes including innovation, sustainability, green energy, and safety. An industry first for the ports and maritime sector, the one day game hackathon will allow teams of creative and forward-thinking developers to transform complex business strategy ideas and themes into an engaging game concept.

Teams of up to 4 people are invited to select a theme of their choice from the strategic development projects listed under the Tyne 2050 strategy and devise a game concept using a no-code game development platform. 

Game concepts will be presented to a judging panel of gaming experts including event partners Ubisoft, who will nominate the ultimate winners of a £500 cash prize. 

“Business gamification is already widely adopted in many sectors, but this is the first time we’ve been part of a Game Jam supporting the future of maritime innovation,” says Damien Glorieux, General Manager for Ubisoft’s Consumer Relationship Centre (CRC) based in Newcastle.. “Through their 2050 Maritime Innovation Hub, the Port of Tyne has a future-focused culture that embraces new ways of working, this event is another example of their vision in action and we’re delighted to be involved.”

We’re using the Game Jam format to bring our Tyne 2050 strategic objectives to life for port colleagues. Our vision is ambitious and we want game developers to inspire us, using novel concepts to drive home both the potential for change and its commercial relevance,” says Ian Blake, Head of Technology at the Port of Tyne.

Sign up for the Maritime Innovation Week Game Jam

When: 9th November 2023

Where: 2050 Innovation Hub, Port of Tyne

How: Game development must not involve use of coding languages and should be developed with an approved no code / low code gaming engines, e.g. GameMaker, GDevelop.

Challenge: Gamify the Tyne 2050 Strategy

The challenge for game developers is to explore a Tyne 2050 theme of their choice and build a fun and creative 2D game in a single day, that can be played by the 350 colleagues across the Port of Tyne, enabling them to appreciate the wider impacts of the strategy.

Any Tyne 2050 theme and game setting can be selected. The following example ideas have been developed to help kick start brainstorm sessions. 

• Zero Harm: The Port has a Zero Harm safety objective. Consider a warehouse setting with different hazards/trips/spills scattered across the warehouse map. The purpose of the game could be to locate and select the correct hazard classification within a given time, competing for safety points on a leaderboard. The person with the most points wins.

• Green Energy: The port has a goal to achieve net zero by 2030. The purpose of the game will be to reach net zero using the least amount of time and money. There will be a sum of money that can be allocated between different green energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, etc. with different costs and carbon reduction impacts. A timer will run on top counting down towards 2030. Whoever reaches net zero with the least amount of time and money spent tops the leaderboard.

• Operational Efficiency: The port has an objective to deliver efficiencies and drive down the time and cost of operations. The game setting could be a container terminal holding 20 containers, 20 containers on the ship, and several free spaces where containers could be placed. The goal would be to move the 20 containers from terminal to ship and vice versa in the least number of moves. The player with the least moves tops the leaderboard.

To find out more about the Hackathon and sign up, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maritime-innovation-week-hackathon-2023-tickets-730304730107?aff=oddtdtcreator