Video Game Development Club at UCI
The Video Game Development Club (VGDC) at UC Irvine is devoted to providing community, opportunity, and resources to student game developers.
VGDC empowers members through quarterly student-led game projects, industry events, game jams, guest speakers, social activities, and department-led workshops in Art, Audio, Game Design, Production, Programming, UI/UX, and Writing.
Whether acting on an interest, or in pursuit of a career, all are welcome, as each and every voice is valuable and contributes to making games what they are.
Winter ZotJam 2026 (Theme: Don't Blink) [37]
"Don't Blink" 48 Hour Game Jam
Challenging a gambler in his basement. Don't blink!
A banshee's hunger for freedom. A watchman's struggle to survive and not blink.
Action
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You wake up in a maze... given a chance to escape death. Will you make it out alive by blinking between worlds?
Adventure
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Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Fall 2025 Games [20]
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An extraordinarily casual and extremely replayable brainrot game.
Play in browser
Shrink inside an anthill and fight ants now on equal footing. Petr must survive his harrowing journey or die trying.
Platformer
A 2.5D co-op rogue-lite focused on utilizing unicorn and pegasus magic to combat aerial enemies.
Action
ZotJam Fall 2025 (Theme: Beyond the Grave) [23]
Help your fellow undead university students uncover the mysteries of their deaths, and romance them along the way!
Visual Novel
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Play as an assistant to the brilliant but unhinged Dr. East, who is obsessed with human resurrection.
Interactive Fiction
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Play in browser
Uni Jam 2025 (Theme: Astral) [41]
Play as the Starweaver, bringing constellations to life in the night sky
Puzzle
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Grow from a small slime to a planet-sized giant while eating your way to the Sun!
Action
Tower Defense in the Astral Plane
Puzzle
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Game made for Uni Jam 2025, by Timo Liu and Zeke Davidson
Puzzle
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A space shooter game where you shoot at enemy spaceships and avoid projectiles. Your objective is to survive.
Visual Novel
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Barricade your planet in asteroids to destroy enemies and survive waves.
Action
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2025 Games [13]
Play as Lucas as you dive into the weird and mysterious worlds of other people's dreams
Platformer
Play in browser
Puzzle
Platformer
A short demo made to prototype the battle system for our upcoming game "You're Gonna be Famous!"
Role Playing
Stack blocks, strategize around hazards, and complete objectives as you build toward the sun.
Strategy
Z3 Expo Games 2025 [25]
Games hosted at VGDC's 3rd annual Z3 Expo ! Other featured games: Landed Tic-Tac-Toe X-Treme-O Duet for Flute and Video Game
Stack blocks, strategize around hazards, and complete objectives as you build toward the sun.
Strategy
Adventure
A short demo made to prototype the battle system for our upcoming game "You're Gonna be Famous!"
Role Playing
A 2D Mashup Between a Time Management Game and a Top-Down Bullet Hell Shooter
ZotJam Spring 2025 (Theme: Dichotomy) [17]
Submissions to VGDC's ZotJam Spring 2025
It's not quite saving the world, but someone has to clean up all this trash!
Puzzle
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life and death; self and self; you and what could have been
Simulation
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For Detective Melia, no case goes cold, and no case is beyond reach, especially not when so much could be at stake.
Adventure
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Traverse worlds of dark and light searching for a way to the other side
Adventure
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Play in browser
Made during a 48 Hour Game Jam
Interactive Fiction
Polar opposite comic groups face off in a head to head joke battle giving jokes on opposing topics
VGDC at UCI Winter 2025 Games [11]
A short demo made to prototype the battle system for our upcoming game "You're Gonna be Famous!"
Role Playing
Adventure
Shooter
Stack blocks, strategize around hazards, and complete objectives as you build toward the sun.
Strategy
Role Playing
A sci-fi rhythm-action game that blends cyberpunk with traditional culture of Taiko!
Rhythm
Survival
VGDC Global Game Jam 2025 (Theme: Bubble) [11]
Traverse space, make new friends, and fight alien cats as a space dog! (For Global Game Jam 2025)
Role Playing
Play in browser
Play in browser
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Fall 2024 Games [13]
Survival
Adventure
Action
Play in browser
A sci-fi rhythm-action game that blends cyberpunk with traditional culture of Taiko!
Rhythm
Z3 Games 2024 [27]
Type words to try to Stop the Duck from Walking off a Cliff.
Interactive Fiction
Play in browser
A Boomerang Fu and Frieren fan game! Battle as the mages from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End in a party shooter game!
Shooter
An action-packed 2.5D RPG! Ward off pelicans and meet the residents of Turtle Bay, a colorful seaside town!
Role Playing
A sweet rhythm cooking game about recipe discovery! A prequel to Order Up!
Rhythm
Watch the world evolve as Ruukoto learns more and more!
Adventure
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Design, build, and fly your very own spacecraft as you attempt to escape post-nuclear Earth!
Simulation
A fast paced multiplayer FPS deathmatch game, where you use a sniper to dominate the competition.
Shooter
The Cheshire cat has given you AK-47. Rip and Tear until its done.
Action
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2024 Games [16]
YIPPIEE!
Card Game
Visual Novel
Design, build, and fly your very own spacecraft as you attempt to escape post-nuclear Earth!
Simulation
The cutest investigator around, Locking up those no-good evil-doers!
Puzzle
Survival
VGDC at UCI Winter 2024 Games [9]
The cutest investigator around, Locking up those no-good evil-doers!
Puzzle
Survival
Design, build, and fly your very own spacecraft as you attempt to escape post-nuclear Earth!
Simulation
VGDC at UCI Fall 2023 Games [13]
Your good friend Josh has succumbed to a terrible curse. It's up to you to make him recover his senses.
Role Playing
An immortal switches bodies with someone fated to die soon...
Visual Novel
Play in browser
Fall Game Jam 2023 (Theme: It's a Small World) [9]
Play in browser
The Cheshire cat has given you AK-47. Rip and Tear until its done.
Action
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2023 Games [14]
An exercise based gacha app -- earn currency through steps and roll for Petrs!
Action
A top-down adventure game where you fight enemies using fire, water, and systemic interactions.
Adventure
Rhythm game based on the classic hit DJ HERO (Still in ongoing development)
Rhythm
An exciting online multiplayer FFA platform fighter using the zodiac powers to conquer your foes
Fighting
Doodle duel against unique enemies in this cartoon tower-defense game taking place in the classroom.
Z3 Games 2023 [26]
Simulation
A fast-paced chaotic management game where you work to complete art commissions for clients!
Simulation
Roguelite RPG narrative game. Unlock talents, skins and upgrade stats. Play as animal hybrids.
Action
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Explore your childhood home in this family-oriented visual novel that dives into superficiality and hurt.
Visual Novel
Magnetic Platformer originally created in 48 hours for CCGJ 2022
Platformer
Play in browser
Search through letters and audio snippets to complete your family tree
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Winter 2023 Games [16]
An exciting online multiplayer FFA platform fighter using the zodiac powers to conquer your foes
Fighting
A musical boss rush arena fighter where you combat monstrous instruments corrupted by a mysterious melody!
Action
Doodle duel against unique enemies in this cartoon tower-defense game taking place in the classroom.
A game producer has gone missing, use your detective skills to investigate the office and discover the truth
Puzzle
Ascend the tower to escape the rising lava while fighting off the army of the robots, and conquer the arena above!
Shooter
A prototype for Errand Girl Laine, a fighting game
Fighting
Play in browser
VGDC Global Game Jam 2023 [9]
Play as various vegetables trying to take back the roots from the fruit.
Platformer
Search through letters and audio snippets to complete your family tree
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Fall 2022 Games [14]
Help Cowboy BeepBoop fix and all the lightbulbs in this puzzle adventure!
Puzzle
A musical boss rush arena fighter where you combat monstrous instruments corrupted by a mysterious melody!
Action
​Cook with Yamame to discover zany meals and kooky costumes!
Puzzle
Play in browser
Visual Novel
UCI Assignment simulator! Match 3 your way to completing those assignments you've been procrastinating on!
Puzzle
Platformer
Rhythm
Fall Game Jam 2022 (Theme: Trick or Treat) [5]
Protect your "candy" from the "monsters" trying to steal it!
Fighting
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2022 [11]
Visual Novel
A cooperative (or competitive?) note highway rhythm game about mental health.
Rhythm
Play in browser
Dedicated to the VGDC at UCI, a fighting game! <3
Fighting
Play in browser
Top-down shooter/dungeon crawler, where you use the power of music to restore musical harmony!
Shooter
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Winter 2022 [6]
BOTTOM TEXT
Role Playing
Play in browser
Winter Game Jam 2022 (Theme: Better Together) [4]
Be a bartender for the day
Puzzle
VGDC at UCI Fall 2021 [12]
Play in browser
Interrogate aliens. Wipe their memories. Uncover the mystery.
Role Playing
Play in browser
Fall Game Jam 2021 (Theme: Destiny) [8]
A game about a student's destiny to finally go to bed... after going to class.
Action
A fight to predict your opponent's DESTINY
Make that bread. Claim your birthright. Full-bake your destiny.
Platformer
Play in browser
A little bird told you that you are destined to become a prominent chef but at what cost..?
Simulation
Type words to try to Stop the Duck from Walking off a Cliff.
Interactive Fiction
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2021 [5]
A narrative-driven retro RPG about the battle against apathy. A UCI VGDC project in development.
Adventure
A short game about getting out of a city while a kaiju battle is ongoing
Puzzle
Play in browser
You are getting ready to start college and a new chapter of your life, until a terrible pandemic forces you indoors!
Visual Novel
VGDC at UCI Winter 2021 [5]
A narrative-driven retro RPG about the battle against apathy. A UCI VGDC project in development.
Adventure
A short platformer made by a few busy students in their free time.
Platformer
A short game about getting out of a city while a kaiju battle is ongoing
Puzzle
Play in browser
Fall 2020 VGDC Game Jam [2]
Top down visual novel about a father and daughter trying to protect one another.
Adventure
VGDC at UCI Spring 2019-2020 [5]
Work a minimum wage job at the Gas Station to earn money for college!
Spring Game Jam 2020 (Theme: Betrayal) [6]
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Winter 2020 [9]
Platformer
Traverse floating islands to solve 3 sets of puzzles, each with an easy, medium, and hard variant.
Puzzle
Play in browser
A 3D RPG based (very) loosely on Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and New Catacombs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Action
VGDC at UCI Fall 2019 [15]
2D Isometric turn-based tactics game. You play as a commander of the last resistance against the Rogue Mind.
Strategy
Platformer
An Ace Attorney fangame with realistic trial mechanics
Visual Novel
A 3D RPG based (very) loosely on Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and New Catacombs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Action
Fall Proto Game Jam 2019 (Theme: Secrets) [8]
The button just becomes harder to find. Can you find the secret room while you're at it?
Puzzle
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Spring 2019 [10]
A thrilling maze game where your greatest enemy is yourself.
Puzzle
A prototype for a physics-based puzzler. Think Boomblox without Steven Spielberg
Puzzle
Play in browser
A 3D game where the objective is to navigate through a randomly generate maze.
Puzzle
Spring Game Jam 2018 (Theme : Lose to Win) [8]
Bound by the same chains of fate, two players take the descent to ensure the survival of their partner.
Action
Play in browser
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Winter 2019 [12]
Defend your castle with nothing but a catapult, some rocks, and your wits.
Mostly Civilized: A Resource Management Project Building Game
Slowly be overrun by enemies as your incomplete defenses get warn down.
Puzzle
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI Fall 2018 [20]
Defeat the demon fish lady, save the world
A game about a gingerbread man who takes revenge on his creator. Created by Sabrina, Aliyah, Jared & Chris
Platformer
Raccoon-stacking running game
Join a ravenous orange on his journey to sate his hunger​.
Platformer
Play in browser
Fall Proto Jam 2018 (Theme : Spiral) [10]
Space rails shooter with random upgrade choices, but then the whole space starts spinning
Shooter
Play in browser
Play in browser
Summer Game Jam 2018 [3]
Overcome CARTASTROPHE at your unpaid Bostco Internship! Become Cart Manager!
Action
Leap on the dragons back thousands of feet in the air and bring it down! Don't get knocked off!
Action
VGDC at UCI Spring 2018 [3]
A fully fledged pacifist platformer where you save your pig instead of a princess.
Platformer
Play in browser
Global Game Jam 2018 [1]
Play in browser
Spring Game Jam 2017 [6]
Play in browser
VGDC at UCI 2016-2017 Year-long [4]
Rance Rance Human Devolution is based on Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution.
VGDC at UCI Fall 2016 [5]
A Unity based top down 2D shooter for UCI VGDC Fall 2016 inspired by Splatoon and Hotline Miami
Action
Fall Game Jam 2016 [10]
Play as Master Chef in a free-roam run for your life, 3D action avoidance game - WASD + Space and Mouse to move!
Action
Play in browser
An action rpg/hack'n'slash/dungeon-crawler about a rouge robot running around murdering every human in sight.
Action
Stellar Work By UCI Students (2018-2019) [2]
Its a shoot-em-up with simple shapes for the superhero-shapes game jam
Action
Play in browser