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Buckle up: Create your own karting game at Your First Game Jam

April 30, 2020 in Community | 5 min. read
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The Karting Microgame video game template just got a serious makeover to help new users get started in Unity, and we’re inviting you to mod your own version at Your First Game Jam on May 3. The fun, simple, playable game template comes with guided tutorials so you can customize the game to make it your own, including revving it up with some brand-new Smart Karts. Best of all, you can easily share your playable Microgame online with friends and family once you’re done – all things we’ll show you during Your First Game Jam.

Your First Game Jam

We’re really excited about the supercharged Karting Microgame, and we want all of you to get excited, too. To celebrate the Karting Microgame’s makeover, we’re hosting our third edition of Your First Game Jam on May 3. Set a reminder to join us online with other beginners and be guided by experts to help you mod and personalize your Karting Microgame while learning fun tips and tricks in Unity. You can also suggest different customizations and have your Karting Microgame-related questions answered, live.

We hosted the first and second editions of Your First Game Jam last year to foster a more collaborative approach to getting started in Unity, and we were blown away by your enthusiasm and creativity. Your participation embodied the spirit of a traditional game jam, where people come together to make something great in a fun and supportive environment that feels more like hanging out with friends than learning tech.

https://twitter.com/turnip_flying/status/1166428009634717707

https://twitter.com/Silver15987/status/1166432758597447680

The Karting Microgame Jam is slated for May 3, 2020, at 10 am PDT. It will be hosted by Mike Geig and Elena Nizhnik from Unity, and they’ll be joined by expert community content creators Soaryn and Roman Papush. The team will hand out $75 gift cards for the Unity Gear Store, which you can swap for cool Unity swag. You can enter during the event by tweeting or Instagramming using the hashtags #YourFirstGameJam and #madewithunity. Be sure to tag Unity at @unity3d on Twitter or @unitytechnologies on Instagram. Not on social? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. You can also post in the Karting Creators group for a chance to win.

Prepare to jam

When you download Unity for the first time, the self-guided learning path invites you to discover Unity’s tools for unleashing your creativity at your own speed via Microgames and Mods. (If you’re not a first-time user but curious about the Microgames, you can find them in the Learn tab of the Unity Hub v2.3+.) Whether you’re a first-time Unity user or not, you can follow these instructions to download the new-and-improved Karting Microgame in preparation for Your First Game Jam.

Out of the box, the Karting Microgame comes with a playable scene that includes a simple oval speedway track, where a single player’s objective is to race around the track and beat the clock before time runs out. The In-Editor tutorials visually highlight how to do things like build your own track, change the kart’s color, decorate your level, and share your game online directly from Unity – the tutorials are a great jumping-off point to practice before the jam.

During the jam

The Karting Mods offer even more horsepower for your creativity by showing you how to edit gameplay and customize your game’s look, which are the types of customizations we’ll be doing together at Your First Game Jam. We’ll show you how to do things like:

  • Change the game mode – Ready to try some new game modes? You can choose from two new modes, beat the clock or crash course, where you have to race against a timer to win, or knock down all the pins (or donuts!) before completing your laps.
  • Design your own levels – reconfigure the speedway with easy-to-use snap-in track pieces, set boosts or constraints for the players’ movements, and customize the game’s look with props and level art.
  • Mod the look – change the sky, create your own title screen and menus, and give your game a unique splash of color.
  • Unlock and add self-driving Smart Karts – spiff it up by unlocking three more sets of shiny new wheels that you can teach to drive themselves.
  • Plus whatever you decide in the live chat – suggest your own mods in the live chat and the hosts will do their best to show you how to achieve it.

After the jam

As a Your First Game Jam participant and Microgame modder, you have an all-new platform to showcase your creativity and discover others’ projects with the Microgames Discovery site. It features all things Microgames:

Microgame Challenges: You can explore and enter ongoing Microgame Challenges. If you win a Challenge, your game will be added to the Featured section with a “Winner” badge.

You can discover and play featured, trending, and fresh Microgames as well as share your games with other creators and your friends. Your game could even be featured in a highlight reel.

https://twitter.com/unity3d/status/1253685233339244548

It’s never been easier to get started in Unity – just download Unity and the Karting Microgame, and speed into creativity by joining us on May 3. Set a reminder for the Karting Microgame Jam if you want a great place to hang out with your fellow Karting modders and get expert tips and tricks to help take your game to the next level. If you want to warm up for the jam, you can enter the Need 4 Kart I Challenge. The winners of the challenge will be announced during the game jam.

Here’s a sneak peek of what the hosts are already working on:

Play Mike's Mike-ro Machines Karting Game 

Play Roman’s Karting 9000 Game

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We can’t wait to see you there.

April 30, 2020 in Community | 5 min. read

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