One Sandbox built for Colorado’s gaming community.
The Sandbox is a community that believes games can entertain, educate, inspire, and solve meaningful problems. Join the Catalyst Gaming Sandbox to solve problems, or bring us problems worth solving.
A sandbox is an open space with no fixed rules, just room to experiment, build, and play. In video games, a “sandbox” is a world that gives players the tools and freedom to build what they want. The Catalyst Gaming Sandbox brings that same spirit to Colorado: a statewide, open space where people learn game development by actually making games, on their own terms.
For students, educators, and independent developers, the Sandbox is a launchpad. Game development is one of the best ways into technology, art, and problem-solving, and Colorado's creative talent deserves a stage of its own. We’re here to build the culture and connections that help our game makers grow right here at home.
For industry & partners: the Sandbox is a direct line to emerging Colorado talent. Getting involved means meeting the next generation of developers, designers, and problem-solvers before anyone else, seeing your real-world challenges built into playable games, and helping shape a homegrown talent pipeline for Colorado’s tech, aerospace, and creative industries.
The Sandbox connects Colorado to the agencies and companies
looking for new talent using video games as the medium to help connect our local communities with our
industries bypassing the technical rhetoric.
This initiative is built to empower and highlight the
importance of the gaming space in Colorado, while helping our creatives grow and succeed.
Challenge topics sourced directly from Colorado aerospace, video game studios, DoD, and state and local government partners.
Itch.io and Discord close the distance so students, alumni, and video game developers anywhere in Colorado compete on the same field.
Curated events turn a portfolio piece into a conversation with the businesses in search of their next hire.
Five connected levels, one playthrough, from a first hello in September to a statewide stage in March. Here’s the journey, start to finish.
The official launch party of the Catalyst Gaming Sandbox! Join us for a night of mingling, fun, and get a front row seat to whats upcoming.
Sign-Up ↓
Participants choose from real-world challenges spanning Colorado Aerospace, the gaming industry, DoD, and state/local government and build a game to answer it.
Sign-Up ↓
Proof of Play Game Jam participants showcase creations to the industries and agencies whose challenges they tackled, centered around mingling and live demos.
Sign-up Soon
Industry developers lead panels and workshops teaching aspiring creators how to build games, develop skills, and market themselves to be better applicants.
Sign-up Soon
Students, independent developers, and tech professionals give TED-style talks on what gaming is currently doing and what it can solve.
Sign-up SoonOur industry and agency partners. They bring the real-world challenges the Builders take on, and turn the Sandbox into a real bridge between talent and opportunity.
You’ll submit a real-world challenge and meet the talent solving it.
Our students, alumni, developers, and the simply curious. These are the people who show up, join the jam, and build. Whether they’re coding their first game or their fiftieth, the Builders are who the Sandbox is built for.
You’ll pick a challenge, build a game during the Proof of Play Game Jam, and demo it to industry at the Reveal-a-Thon.
Experienced people from the industry who want to teach. They help Builders sharpen their skills, learn new tools, and find new paths into gaming and tech careers.
You’ll mentor Builders, share what you know, and help them find their next opportunity.
Our organizers, partners, and sponsors. From Catalyst Campus to our platform partners and financial backers, providing funding, tools, and reach that make the entire Sandbox possible.
You’ll keep the Sandbox running.
No matter your role, everyone can play the games we make. Everyone is a Player.
The Proof of Play Game Jam opens October 1st, sign up to enter the jam and join
the Discord to keep up to
date and meet fellow developers.
Have an industry Challenge you want to submit?
Send us a
problem and see the developers of the jam design
and build their game around it. (And see it live at the
Reveal-a-thon)
Level up the statewide community through events and online, connecting Colorado across distance and linking
them with
like-minded people to collaborate and meet one another.
Three ways to get involved. Each gives your organization a role in building Colorado’s tech workforce.
Submit a real-world problem from your industry or agency. During the month-long Proof of Play Game Jam, developers build original games designed around your challenge, giving you fresh, creative approaches to a problem you care about and an early look at the talent behind them. You provide the prompt; the Proof of Play Game Jam developers bring it to life, and you meet them directly at the Reveal-a-Thon.
A challenge is where it starts, but financial sponsorship is what lets the Sandbox grow. Funding the program lets us reach more talent across the state, run more events, and strengthen the existing programs that support Colorado developers. When you financially sponsor, your investment stays home:
Industry pros, this is your chance to get involved. Lead a Q&A or panel, share what your business does and how you broke into the field, and connect directly with the community. It’s the most hands-on way to guide Colorado’s next generation of developers.
The kickoff. Every game begins at the menu screen, and every great initiative needs a starting point. The Game Start Social is where the Catalyst Gaming Sandbox begins: an in-person mixer to meet the community, enjoy specialty drinks, and get the first look at what's ahead.
Why it matters: This is where connections start. Before a single game is built, the Social brings developers, industries, mentors, and partners into the same room, so everyone knows who's in the Sandbox and how to take part.
The build. Over one month, developers choose from real-world challenges submitted by Colorado's aerospace, gaming, defense, and government sectors, then design an original video game around one. It all happens online, through Itch.io and Discord.
Why it matters: This is the heart of the Sandbox. Real problems become playable games, developers grow their portfolios and skills, and sponsors see creative, unexpected solutions to the challenges they care about.
The showcase. An interactive job fair where Proof of Play Game Jam participants demo their finished games to the very industries and agencies whose challenges they tackled, with live demos, real conversations, and direct connections.
Why it matters: This is the payoff. Developers put their work in front of the people who hire, and organizations discover skilled Colorado creators they would never meet through a résumé alone.
The level-up. A series of panels and workshops, online and in-person, led by experienced industry developers who teach aspiring creators how to build games, sharpen their skills, and market themselves as stronger candidates. It runs the second week of December, January, and February.
Be a Panelist: indie developers, studio leads, and industry pros share best practices and tips from their corner of the industry.
Attend the Q&A: students and aspiring creators bring questions and get answers straight from the people doing the work, online or in person.
Why it matters: Talent needs guidance to grow. Indie Jump Start gives developers direct access to the people who have done it, helping them build real, employable skills.
Panelist sign-ups: coming soon. We’ll open panelist slots once the Proof of Play Game Jam launches. Questions? cgsandbox@catalystcampus.org
The capstone. A statewide stage where students, independent developers, and tech professionals give TED-style talks on what gaming is doing now, and what it can solve next, hosted at the UCCS Cybersecurity Center.
Why it matters: The Sandbox ends by looking forward. The Symposium elevates Colorado voices, spotlights the ideas shaping the industry, and shows the wider world what our community can do.
Judges' decisions are final. Rules may be updated before the jam; check back for the latest version.