February 3 – 5, 6pm-6pm
Cowork Frederick is excited to again host the Global Game Jam!
Already familiar? Sign up here.
Want to learn more? Read on.
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world’s largest game creation event How big? In January 2020, a record-breaking 9,601 games were created in one weekend by people in 934 locations (we were one of them) in 118 countries! As before, this year’s local game jam will be organized and run by the Frederick Game Dev group.
What is a game jam? As the Global Game Jam website explains, a game jam is similar to a hackathon where people come together for a short period of time to create games around a central theme revealed at the start of the jam. Participants (“Jammers”) gather on Friday late afternoon, watches a short video keynote with advice from leading game developers, and then a theme (secret up until that point) is announced. Jammers worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that theme, completed by Sunday afternoon.
“The GGJ stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a shortened development cycle.”
Jammers are invited to explore new technology tools, trying new roles in development and testing their skills to do something that requires them to design, develop create, test and make a new game. The GGJ is rooted in the idea that in today’s heavily connected world, we can come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using the universal language of video games.
The GGJ fosters creativity and buzz around the game creating community and encourages participation from people with all different backgrounds. Think collaboration, not competition.
Not a programmer? No problem. You don’t have to be a game developer to participate! Non-coders can contribute by testing games, brainstorming ideas/story lines, creating theme music and sound effects, or providing moral support.
The event will begin at 6pm February 3rd with a video revealing the theme for 2023. Participants will then work together to complete their games over the next 48 hours.
Want to be a part of this global event? Sign up here.
Questions? Join the Frederick Game Dev Discord Channel.