Defense Tech Jam Hackathon- Student Registration
🎮 GAME DEV + AI — 72 HOURS TO PROTOTYPE SOLUTIONS FOR OUR DEFENSE FORCES
Defense Tech Jam is a 3-day rapid prototyping game jam where you'll team up with developers, designers, and AI enthusiasts to turn an idea into a playable demo — all in one weekend. This year's challenges are centered around AI-assisted training and human-AI collaboration.
📅 When: September 18- 20th, 2026 (Fri–Sun)
Friday -2:00 PM -7:30 PM
Saturday- 10:00 AM -7:30 PM
Sunday -10:00 AM -3:00 PM
📍 Where: Northeastern University Seattle 1st Floor Event Space
🎟️ Who: All skill levels welcome — this is a great first hackathon/game jam if you've never done one before!
⚠️ Only 20 seats available for this event — register early to secure your spot! Attendance is required for all three days and the entire duration in order to participate.
Note: If you are one of the first 20 people to register and plan to participate in the Hackathon, you will need to attend a mandatory virtual prep session on September 11th at 11 AM. You will receive more information regarding this via email.
This year's challenges all center on AI:
Mission-Ready AI Training — Design gameplay that helps warfighters get comfortable using AI-based assistants and interactive training tools.
Team AI: Trust and Tactics — Build a game exploring how to calibrate trust between humans and AI teammates in dynamic, high-stakes situations.
Cognitive Load Combat — Create a strategy game (single or multiplayer) that reinforces effective decision-making under information overload.
Why join?
🏆 Top prizes up to $5,000 (1st) $3,000 (2nd) $1,000 (3rd)
🎨 Bonus bounty awards: Best Original Artwork, Best Sound/Music/FX, Best Narrative Experience ($100 each)
👥 No team required — teams form on-site, all skills and levels welcome
🧑🏫 Guidance from Defense Subject Matter Experts and tech/game dev mentors throughout the weekend
💼 Great chance to build your portfolio and connect with industry pros
This is for you if you're:
Into game development (programmers, artists, musicians, designers, UI/UX — all roles needed)
Curious about turning an AI/agent idea into a playable prototype
New to hackathons/game jams and want a supportive place to try one
Looking to meet Seattle's local game dev and defense-tech community
What to bring: your own dev gear (laptop, monitor, VR headset, etc. — whatever you need to build)