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 18th-20th in Edmonton, Calgary, and remote for the fifth annual Alberta Game Jam!

Alberta Game Jam is Alberta's largest game jam event, seeking to 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 gain experience! 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.

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Physical Sites:

If you are participating in this game jam at a physical site, please purchase your $10 ticket at one of the Eventbrite links below. Your $10 reserves you a spot, and helps to fund the venue's snack table and other costs associated with hosting the event. Each of the physical venues are wheelchair accessible. To learn more about the amenities/facilities available at each venue, please visit the Eventbrite pages below. 

Calgary (Platform Calgary Innovation Centre) | Edmonton (NAIT Productivity and Innovation Centre) | Remote Participation

Unable to get to any of the physical sites, but would still like to participate? We have you covered! We have done our best to ensure that all physical venues  are accessible to those with physical mobility issues and other disabilities, but we know that there are other factors that may make participating in person difficult or impossible. While we do strongly encourage you to attend in person if you can, if you can't and would like to participate remotely, join our Discord! The Alberta Game Jam team will do their best to support you in joining a team or with any other issues/concerns that pop up. 

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Event Details:

How It Works:

The goal of 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. After the theme is revealed, participants will be able to mingle with each other and 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 each team presents their game, where they will share their experiences and what they learned throughout the jam.

Alberta Game Jam starts promptly at 6 pm on Friday, August 18th and ends at 6 pm Sunday, August 20th. Your game must be uploaded to this itch.io page by 6 pm. Presentations start promptly at 6 pm, and then we all go home and sleep!

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Teams:

Attendees may choose to come with a team already made, but in the spirit of collaboration and experimentation, it is preferred that you form a team at the event once the theme has been announced. Use this opportunity to meet new people and work with someone different!

Teams may not exceed 10 people. Solo teams are allowed, though we encourage you to at least talk to your fellow developers throughout the event. We also ask that you be kind and help make this is a positive experience for all participants—if you notice that someone is still looking for a team, please take them in. 

The Alberta Game Jam is open to people of all disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of experience. 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. If you don't know how to do anything, this event is the perfect place to learn!

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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!) 

Albertosaurus at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology located in Drumheller, Alberta. Photo taken from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albertosaurus_Royal_Tyrrell_2.jpg

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