Posted May 02, 2020 by Hitbox Makers
#GameJam #Guide
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"Grouping tens of people in the same place to create games. It sounds like heaven, doesn’t it?"
Game Jams are events during which people create games (often video games, but also board games) in a short session: they often last between 24 and 72 hours. But many other format exist: some are much shorter (0h Game Jam, One hour Game Jam), and others much longer, lasting a week (7DRL challenge) or more...
It is difficult to date the first ever in history, but we know the first Ludum Dare, one of the most famous online Game Jam nowadays, had been hosted in 2002. And now, there literally are hundreds of them being organised at any time. Just check the “Jams” page on itch.io
And of course, they all have their identity, and there is a huge diversity of them: online, as real world gathering, small, huge, thematic, for fun, as a competition, promotional…
A Real World Gathering, is an event (and a place) where people group together during in a Game Jam. Some are independent, such as our main Jam, some take part in a larger even, such as the Global Game Jam (118 countries, 934 sites and 9601 games for January 2020 edition)
We have identified 4 main reasons why it is great to group together in a Real World Gathering:
REASON 1:
Teaming with other people, and creating something you thought was beyond your skills
REASON 2:
Entering a time bubble, where you are safe to give everything
REASON 3:
Being part of a creative profusion, and amazed at other’s game
REASON 4:
Showing your work, and seeing stars in other people's eyes
After some editions, we have understood and defined “Hitbox Makers”, our local Game Jam:
There are many other wonderful Game Jams. But this one is ours, and we love it! So this guide reflects our experience and the way we like to do things.
However there are many different ways of doing things, and they are perfectly legitimate. So, when it applies, the guide will display an infobox, when things could be done differently for 4 other kinds of real world gathering:
Ludum Dare casual and fun, but synchronised with a global online event
Global Game Jam casual and fun, but synchronised with hundreds of other real world gatherings
a Competitive Jam professional or semi-professional competition, with the target to get some promotion
a Tech based Jam with experienced developers, and the target to experiment with a specific technology or equipment
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