Hack Club Campfire Miami (2026)
1st Place Overall • Best Art • GitHub Special Recognitionn
Case File: The Stinging Swindler is a mystery visual novel developed in 24 hours for Hack Club’s Campfire Miami game jam.
The game follows an investigator examining a series of disappearances connected to a beachside underwater cave. Players progress through dialogue, analyze clues, and uncover the truth behind the case.
- Engine: Ren’Py
- Genre: Mystery / Visual Novel
- Development Time: 24 hours
Campfire is a synchronized global game jam organized by Hack Club, where high school students in 200+ cities build games from scratch over a single weekend.
Campfire Miami was the in-person event where our team collaborated, developed the project, and presented it to judges at the end of the 24-hour sprint.
After winning locally, our project advanced to Hack Club’s global online jam, Ember, where selected teams refined and showcased their games internationally.
At Campfire Miami (2026), this project received:
- 1st Place Overall
- Best Art
- GitHub Special Recognition
We began with a core mystery concept and structured the narrative before development began. Our workflow:
- Outlined the story structure and key plot points
- Wrote dialogue and branching choices
- Designed character sprites, backgrounds, and UI assets
- Composed and integrated original music
- Implemented all components in Ren’Py
Due to the 24-hour time constraint, we focused on delivering a complete and polished experience rather than expanding scope beyond what was realistic.
GitHub was used for version control and project organization throughout development.
Ana Albornoz — Programming / Technical Lead
- Implemented the game in Ren’Py
- Structured branching dialogue and scene transitions
- Integrated art, music, and narrative assets
- Managed debugging and final build
Hannah Chang — Art & Musicusic
- Designed character sprites and backgrounds
- Created UI elements and visual assets
- Composed and integrated original music
Cing Cin — Story Writing
- Developed the narrative concept
- Wrote dialogue and structured the mystery
- Planned story progression and character interactions
- Scoped and completed a full project within a strict 24-hour deadline
- Practiced rapid team collaboration and clear role division
- Integrated creative assets efficiently into a working game engine
- Reinforced the importance of version control and clean project structure
- Learned how pacing, audio, and visual design influence player experience
This project represents a complete development cycle—from concept to playable build—created during a single hackathon sprint. Future refinements may expand narrative depth and polish.