Local Students Band Together For Annual Global Game Jam

MONROVIA (CBS) — Milton Bradley had to start somewhere.

But back in the day, if you wanted to create a game, you had to go all over town to hawk it. In these computerized, Internet-ized and digital-ized times, not so much.

Welcome to Global Game Jam.

The challenge? To create a video or board game within 48 hours. It's an annual event -- it started yesterday and will end tomorrow.

CBS2 and KCAL9 reporter Stephanie Abrams met up with a group of students from Mount Sierra College who rose to the challenge.

Global Game Jam is an international -- and growing -- phenomenon.

And as Abrams reports, armed with a ton of Goldfish and gallons of caffeine, the students at Mount Sierra put their thinking caps on.

Three local schools (USC and Cal State Fullerton the others) participated among more than 247 locations globally. They were shown a picture of a snake eating its tail.

Make a game! Go!

Abrams spoke to one student who had a light bulb moment. "We came up with the idea, pirate snakes on 'Cannibalism Island.'"

Another group created "Rhea" about a woman fighting against time.

And another group rolled the dice with "World Domination." In this game, a team member says "it's an incarnation of a snake god who's bringing about the end of the world and the other gods are trying to stop him."

Reports Abrams, the students like the part of playing globally and seeing if their ideas can take flight. Or get eaten alive.

For more information about the Global Game Jam, click here.