On any given weekend, there is a game jam happening somewhere in the world. Professionals and students alike converge on these game jam sites to further their skills, to foster community, and to experiment with game design.
Chen, S (2017) Foreword to Game Jam Guide titled A Brief History of Game Jams
The process of rapid ideation has been promoted and celebrated within the games industry and its surrounding community for nearly 20 years. As detailed in the Game Jam Guide (2017) the first recognised game jam, the 0th Indie Game Game, was found by Hecker and Barrett in March 2002. However its real origin can back much further when you consider the demo scene from the earliest stages of the games industry.
Nowadays the game jam event schedule is pretty much filled to the brim and access to a game jam on any day of the year is as simple as searching the internet in order to find one.
Every game jam has a different focus depending on why it exists. Topics and themes are decided through a multitude of ways and inspirations meaning that you can stumble across something that will inspire and motivate you at any point. Or you could dip your toes into something completely new and take yourself well out of your comfort zone.
The rule sets for each jam also vary depending on the organisers or the community. Different specific aspects could be requested such as using specific game engines or assets. Time limits vary as well, dependent on aspects such as team size or quality of result.
The communities built around the jams are supportive and helpful, encouraging communication and team building in order to produce better and more interesting results. Some times game jams are organised on a larger scale with some notable high profile events happening throughout the year.
Notable Game Jams
Global Game Jam – https://globalgamejam.org/
The Global Game Jam was found in July 2008 through the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Its purpose was to support and increase games education however it has grown to become one of the premier game jams in the game development calendar.
It is run towards the end of January every year and utilises sites around the world that are run by volunteers to allow people to access a much greater worldwide community. It runs across a weekend with the theme being released on the Friday evening in a communal worldwide gathering alongside a keynote video. The jam runs until Sunday afternoon, where teams take the them and try to build games based around the theme.
In January 2020 the game ran with 934 sites in 118 countries and created 9601 games.
Ludum Dare – https://ldjam.com/
Ludum Dare is a twice yearly game jam whose origins are more based on the solo developer but has grown to incorporate teams as well as non digital submissions.
The jam takes place over a weekend but comes in two varieties, the Jam and the Compo. The Jam is a 72 hour even for teams or individuals whereas the Compo is individual only and runs over 48 hours, the Compo is subjected to a much stricter rule set and is considered more of a ‘Hard Mode’.
The luxury of this event is that the is a massive range of quality which is not considered within the judgement of the jam as this is done through a communal voting system through the website. Also the theme is usually voted on by the participants in the run up to the event, allowing some research to take place and more focus on the games creation to be done throughout.
GMTK Game Jam – https://gmtkgamejam.com/
The Game Maker’s Toolkit Game Jam has been running for 5 years and has grown in popularity year on year. Following the usual 48 hour, team or individual based model the games submitted are sometimes profiled on the Game Makers Toolkit Youtube channel.
The rules are quite flexible but they do encourage the creation of all aspects of the game during the 48 time limit, with some rules defining what assets can be brought in from outside the team. This obviously drives a smaller finished product but with sometimes amazing results.
Preparations
Partaking in a game jam can be a daunting experience and sometime a high stress situation. Well being during these events is something often discussed with some jams now running over longer periods to allow for a less stressful environment in order to be creative within.
It if often wise to have a starting point from which to build, so a project that is already set up ready to be developed within. As Mendonca (2019) states ‘Build a code library or a “DevKit” that you can reference to.’, so that you have not having to produce repetitive aspects as part of the time and can use this time to focus on your games development.
Game Jams and Me
I have participated in game jams before. I have done a few Ludum Dare’s and a Global Game Jam but I have never succeeded in completing my project within the time limit. This is mostly down to over-scoping on my part as well as outside commitments not allowing me to dedicate the time towards the process.
I think in future I would love to be able to focus on one of these event, probably another Ludum Dare, but would need to make sure that my preparations and time are all in check before I attempt it.
References
Cornish, S., Farber, M., Fleming, A. and Miklasz, K., 2017. Game Jam Guide — ETC Press. [online] ETC Press. Available at: <http://press.etc.cmu.edu/index.php/product/game-jam-guide/> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
itch.io. 2021. Game jams. [online] Available at: <https://itch.io/jams> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
Global Game Jam. n.d. Global Game Jam Press Kit. [online] Available at: <https://globalgamejam.org/presskit> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
Ldjam.com. n.d. [online] Available at: <https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/rules> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
Gmtkgamejam.com. 2021. GMTK Game Jam Rules. [online] Available at: <https://gmtkgamejam.com/> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
Mendonca, N., 2019. Game Jam Survival Kit. [online] Gamasutra.com. Available at: <https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/NielissonMendonca/20190410/340456/Game_Jam_Survival_Kit.php> [Accessed 13 June 2021].
Figures
Feature Image & Figure 1: Charlish, R (2021) ‘Screenshot of Itch.io game jam for June’ Created on June 13th 2021
Figure 2: Charlish, R (2021) ‘Screenshot of rules for the KenneyJam’ Created on June 13th 2021
0 Comments