WELCOME!

LoJam returns for its 3rd year on Friday March 6-8th 2020! This amazing 48-hour game jam aims to help grow the game development scene in London, Ontario and welcomes all who wish to take part, be they beginners, hobbyists, students, or professionals!

We also believe in the power of video games to help promote stronger mental health, and encourage all our attendees to consider ways in which their games might do this. It might come from including a therapeutic style of gameplay, or from a narrative that tackles a mental health subject, or even just from increased representation of mental health issues in our characters, the possibilities are endless!

No matter what you build or how you build it, we hope you'll have an amazing time! 

VENUE

Innovation Works - 201 King St, London Ontario - N6A1C9 

SCHEDULE

Friday March 6th:

• 5:30 PM - Doors open! Arrive and setup your stations, meet and greet other jammers!
• 6:00 PM - Keynote address, theme reveal and message from our sponsors. After this you have until 3PM on Sunday to build your games!
• 7:00 PM - Catered dinner – pizzas and sodas, plus fresh fruit and veggies 

Saturday March 7th:

• 8:30 AM - Catered breakfast – coffee and pastries
• 1:00 PM - Portrait studio – get a professional résumé / LinkedIn profile photo taken for free! 
• 6:00 PM -  Catered dinner – subs and sodas, plus fresh fruit and veggies 

Sunday March 8th:

• 8:30 AM - Catered breakfast – coffee and pastries 
• 3:00 PM - Showcase in the main room! All teams to present their games to the group. Live- streamed to Facebook, Twitch & Mixer, with prizes to follow! 
• 6:00 PM - Wrap party – Join us at Crabby Joe’s (276 Dundas St) and celebrate making it to the end!

THEME

To be announced during the keynote address! 

RULES

You're welcome to use any tools / technologies / game engines you wish, but all assets (code, art and sound) should be created during the game jam (or else should be credited and disclosed during the showcase)! Also, be respectful of your fellow jammers - no harassment or divisive behaviour!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

One person from each team should create a submission page for their game through this itch.io portal (and each non-submitting team member should register themselves as a co-contributor on their team's page) 

You should give your team (and your game!) a name, a description, and upload a short screen recording of it in action! (we recommend using a free tool such as OBS Studio or FRAPS to perform the recording - our volunteers can guide you through this if necessary). This video will play during the showcase event on Sunday afternoon and be seen by all the other jammers, so be sure to include every aspect of your game that you want to show off!

If you also wish to upload a playable (or downloadable) version of your game that is great! But not required. Any questions about this process please ask one of our volunteers.

PRIZES

We have some amazing prizes to give out this year, including:

• Tickets to EGLX 2020 in Toronto (Oct 16 - 18)
• Tickets to MEGA+MIGS 2020 in Montreal
• Tickets to XP Game Developer Summit in Toronto (Apr 8 - 9)
• Tickets to East Park & Forest City Comicon in London
• An awesome selection of Xbox One titles and Xbox merch!
• A Bosch® Tassimo T12 Coffee Machine
• Steam gift cards

And we have multiple prize categories: 

1. People's Choice - Voted for by every jammer during the final showcase, this is the game that receives the highest overall score for audio, visuals and gameplay combined!
2. Judge's Choice (Games Industry) - Decided by our panel of games industry veterans
3. Judge's Choice (Mental Health) - Decided by partner from London Health Sciences Foundation
4. Top Fundraiser - For the jammer who raised the most sponsorship for LHSF and FEMAP!
5. Exit Survey Prize - For one lucky jammer who completes our LoJam exit survey before the 3PM Sunday deadline!

GENERAL ADVICE

• Pre-install any large tools / technologies / game engines onto your machine before the event 
• Get plenty of rest the night before! 
• Take plenty of breaks (including to sleep!) during the event - your schedule is entirely your own 
• Remember to stay hydrated - water is provided but please bring your own reusable bottle! 
• Connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Discord
• Most importantly, have fun! 

FUNDRAISING

Similar to last year, we are once again partnering with London Health Sciences Foundation to help fundraise for FEMAP, which is an amazing program that helps young people here in London who struggle with mental health issues. Just by coming to this event and building a game that promotes positive mental health you're already doing something amazing, but if we can also help FEMAP keep running that would be truly incredible (especially as this program receives zero government funding!).  So we'd love it if you would consider setting up a fundraising profile through our dedicated web portal at https://secure.lhsf.ca/event/london-game-jam-2020/e267987 and share it on your social media, or even just mention your involvement to friends and family, in the hopes of helping us hit our fundraising goal!

SPONSORS

We wouldn't be able to run LoJam without the amazing support of our sponsors!