Are you a current or aspiring game developer in Alberta? Are you looking for a way to connect with other developers in our community, learn new skills, or experiment with cool ideas? Join us on August 13th-15th from wherever you are in the province for the third annual Alberta Game Jam!

Alberta Game Jam is Alberta's largest game jam event, seeking to help unite and empower developers throughout our province. Whether you're a seasoned developer already working in the industry or a novice looking to get started, game jams are an excellent way to get connected to your peers, flex your creative muscles, and share experiences by making games! If you're new to game development, game jams are also a great way to learn the ins and outs of the process and start building up pieces for your portfolio.

Physical Sites

Due to Covid-19 there are no official physical sites for Alberta Game Jam 2021. Join us on our discord (https://discord.gg/ktpYzJh) to meet some new people, make a team, and follow along with the rest of the jammers!

Event Details

Schedule

Because this year's event is entirely online, we have scheduled in a number of short activities throughout the jam to help give our jammers some much needed brain and body breaks, as well as to help foster the sense of community that Alberta Game Jam exists to promote! While it can be tempting to try and work straight through the 48 hours, it is important to take the time to take care of yourself rather than burn out. 

The activities listed in the schedule are optional—please do not feel obligated to join in if you are unable and/or disinclined. (Though we heavily encourage you to take breaks throughout the event, even if they're not with us!)

Note: All activities are being hosted on Discord unless specified otherwise, and all times are in MDT. 

How It Works

The goal of the Alberta Game Jam is to create a game in 48 hours within a multidisciplinary team according to a secret theme that will be announced at the beginning of the event in the #announcements channel on the Discord. After the theme is revealed, participants are encouraged to post in the #looking-for-group channel to form teams before starting to work on their game. (Think of it like a hack-a-thon, but focused on game development!) Teams may choose to make digital or board games, so long as it adheres to the theme in some way.

At the end of the 48 hour period, participants are encouraged to check out the other jammers games on the itch and post about their experiences in the #game-jam-review channel.

Alberta Game Jam starts promptly at 5 pm MDT on Friday, August 13th and ends at 5 pm  MDT Sunday, August 15th. Your game must be uploaded to this itch.io page by 5 pm after which you can get some much needed sleep!

Teams

Attendees may choose to come with a team already made, but in the spirit of encouraging collaboration and experimentation, you are encouraged to form a team at the event once the theme has been announced. Since we’re not able to jam in person, this would be a great opportunity to work with people from all over the province!

Team size may not exceed 7 people. Solo teams are allowed, though we encourage you to at least talk to your fellow developers throughout the event!

Alberta Game Jam is open to people of all disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of experience. Game development would not be possible without programmers, designers, artists, writers, and audio artists, so please do not be discouraged from attending if you don't know how to do everything. There is guaranteed to be someone at the event that can do what you can't (and vice-versa!) for you to team up with. And if you don't know how to do anything, this event is the perfect place to learn!

Diversifiers

In addition to the jam theme, teams may choose to apply one or more diversifiers to their game in order to add additional challenge to their experience. Diversifiers are completely optional, and teams can add as many as they wish if they choose to use them. 

• "Rated E for Everyone": Design your game to be accessible to those with visual, mobile, sensory, and/or other disabilities.
• "Wait, was that...?": Include a famous Albertan or a character from another Alberta made game.
• "Cameo": Include the Albertosaurus.
• "Far and Wide": Create a team that includes jammers from at least 3 different cities.
• "Get my picture with it!": From the world's largest beaver to the world's largest Ukrainian sausage, Alberta has many roadside attractions. Include one of more in your game: https://www.todocanada.ca/15-roadside-attractions-alberta/.
• "Retro Controls": Make a game where your controls are limited to just directional keys or buttons and two input/action keys or buttons.
• "Black and White": Limit yourself to a greyscale colour palette for visuals for your game.
• "Draw a Card": Convey the use of a deck, shuffling, or drawing playing cards in any form in your game.
• "Can I Borrow This?": Use an asset (art, audio, or otherwise) from another team in your game.
• "Presentation Time": Make an interactive game using Microsoft Powerpoint or any other slideshow-like technology. 
• "Sleep is Important": Feature taking naps as a mechanic or plot point.

Why the Dinosaur?

The dinosaur on our logo isn’t just any dinosaur—it’s an Albertosaurus, first discovered in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta in 1884 by Joseph B. Tyrrell, the namesake of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta. The Albertosaurus was chosen as our team wanted to choose a symbol that was unique to Alberta but not tied to any particular location in order to best represent our mandate of uniting developers across the province. Besides being named after the province, the Albertosaurus is also featured on the new Alberta driver’s licenses and identification cards. Additionally, it is believed by some paleontologists that the Albertosaurus moved and hunted in packs, which fits with the themes of unity and empowerment driving Alberta Game Jam.

(Plus dinosaurs are just plain cool!)