Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a video game? The Game Development Student Society (GameDev) at McGill sets out to answer this question. Whether you dream of designing the next Super Mario, or you are simply interested in what actually happens in the digital universe, GameDev turns your curiosity into creation.
Kelly Lio, U3 Engineering and Vice President External of GameDev McGill, explained in an interview with The Tribune that the club hosts monthly social events where members come together and exchange ideas.
“People come and show their games and whatever they’ve worked on. It’s very fun, and we always have pizza for everyone,” Lio said. “A lot of the time, some people I know have been like, ‘I’m trying to make this game a reality, but I don’t know how to do art, or I don’t know how to code’ […] [and] they find other people in the club and collaborate.”
Lio then emphasized GameDev’s inclusive environment, particularly through its collaboration and mentorship.
“[The club] can bring a sense of community as well, and we never discriminate against those who don’t know [or] are less experienced,” she said. “Having a club or a community can help, [allowing] those who are more experienced to share their knowledge.”
Lio also explained that sponsorships provide most of GameDev’s funding.
“We basically don’t use money from the school,” Lio said. “This year we have around ten companies, including Ubisoft and Behaviour [Interactive] [as sponsors] [….] In exchange, they have places for promotions, prizes, and involvement in our club.”
President Hussein Serageldin, U3 Arts, highlighted some of the club’s other achievements in an interview with The Tribune.
“We do a bunch of […] workshops and talks, social events, demo nights, and studios. We’re trying to be as active as possible, so a few events a week,” Serageldin said. “There are two games that came from out of the club that have done tremendously well. One of them is called Starvaders. You can find it online, there’s a bunch of people who made YouTube videos about it. There was another one called ANEURISM IV [….] It has over 100,000 sales publicly.”
Other notable games created by members of the club include Feline Fortress, Nebula’s Descent, and Sleep Herd. While managing a club of 400 members may be a challenge to many McGillians, Serageldin enjoys working with a group of students deeply passionate about game-making.
“Having to worry about the club falling apart at any point, but also trying to elevate it as much as possible, can be stressful,” Serageldin said. “This year we had a recruitment season. We got over 190 new members [….] I’m not a very lenient president. We’re very intense. But everybody does so amazing and really wants to do good for the club, and so everything runs smoothly.”
Every year, GameDev McGill hosts McGameJam—Quebec’s largest games hackathon. McGameJam 2026 took place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, during which around 400 participants were given 48 hours to develop a game. Lio, who won this year’s McGameJam, shared that attending such events is a great way to network and discover postgraduate pathways.
“[McGameJam] is the biggest event we host, and we [even] have a dedicated executive for it,” Lio said. “A lot of our members, or at least the alumni, have a lot of experience in the industry, so it’s a very good way to break into [the industry] [….] The sponsors are especially important because they come directly to us during GameJam. We host a career fair, they are […] right there, and you can connect with them.”
Lio reaffirmed that community is the most important aspect at GameDev McGill.
“It’s a club that aims to help students be in a community where they can focus on making games, whether it’s as an artist, a programmer, sound designer, or just a level designer,” Lio said. “That’s the main goal at GameDev McGill.”
Interested students should note that GameDev McGill is currently recruiting executives for the 2026-2027 school year. The deadline to apply is March 15.
