The Tasmanian Game Development Society (TasGDS) and MONA are excited to announce Tasjam: Utopia, a very special game jam event, to be held on-site at the amazing MONA grounds.

A game jam is similar in concept to a hackathon, teams of up to six people (we recommend no more than four!) form to create videogames from scratch over the course of a single weekend. It's kind of like when a band gets together to jam; the idea isn't to produce the most professional music, but rather to experiment and collaboratively come up with something fresh and new, to break habits, and step outside the comfort zone.

TasGDS is very thankful to MONA for the privilege of being invited onto the grounds during MOFO 2017. Attendees should look forward to some amazing catering, and inspiring works of art and architecture.

Given the special nature of this Tasjam event, there will only be a single venue this time around, and that venue will have limited seats, so get your tickets early!

Theme

We've asked MONA to suggest a theme for the event, and the fantastic Kirsha Kaechele has come up with a pair of themes for you to choose from or combine, however inspiration takes you:

• Utopia
• Overthrow the one percent

MUST READ: Important Requirements

All electrical hardware that will be used on site needs to be tested and tagged by MONA's electrician. The venue will be open from midday to 6pm on Friday January 20 for this purpose. At this stage, this is the only time the electrician will be available, meaning if you're unable to get in on Friday (or send someone on your behalf) to have your gear tested and tagged, that gear will not be usable for the duration of the event.

Getting to the event

Click here to read MONA's description for how to get to the venue, but please bear in mind that MOFO will mean it will be busy. If you wish to take the ferry, consider booking your tickets in advance. If you're planning to drive there should be ample parking, please consider whether it would be possible to have someone drop you off and pick you up to avoid taking up valuable parking spaces for other MOFO attendees.

The actual space is called the Round Room. Getting to it is... complicated.

Tasjam: Utopia is a part of Mona Foma, MONA's summer arts festival. This means that the MONA grounds are going to be busier than ever over the course of the entire event. With this in mind, please aim to arrive at least 30 minutes early to allow for gate queues, in order to reduce staggered starts and escorting.

Mona Foma is a ticketed event, and tickets aren't cheap. Our hosts are allowing us access to the grounds without purchased tickets, but this means Tasjam attendee names will be on the door list, and will need to be checked-off each day of the event.

Session times are as follows. Please remember to arrive early!

• Friday: 12pm-6pm - Testing and Tagging, meet and greet with organisers, mentors, and attendees. People are expected drop-in over the course of the day. Jason and Ducky are prepared to be running back and forth from the main entrance.
• Saturday: 10am-8pm - Tasjam: Utopia
• Sunday: 10am-6pm - Tasjam: Utopia

Once you've arrived and gotten past the name check at the gate, please make your way to just outside the main entrance of the museum (near where the trampoline is usually set up). Once you're there, give Jason a call on 04485 24487, and someone will come and collect you to escort you to the hard-to-find venue.

Hours of Operation

We have limited hours of access to the venue, which means we won't be able to offer overnight options for attendees this time around, for obvious being-in-a-museum security reasons.

Friday 20 - 12pm-6pm (For testing and tagging, and team creation)

Saturday 21 - 10am-8pm

Sunday 22 - 10am-6pm

Staying in the venue outside of these hours isn't an option, and we're answerable to MONA security personnel.

Catering

As for every Tasjam, this is a fully-catered event. Catering will be provided by MONA. Please include dietary information when booking your ticket.

Mentors

Please join us in thanking our wonderful mentors that are giving up a weekend of their time to help you out with your jamming endeavours:

• Alayna Cole - Creator of Queerly Represent Me, games writer, teacher, and academic from the University of the Sunshine Coast.
• Dakoda Barker - Games journalist, designer, teacher, and academic, also from the University of the Sunshine Coast.
• Shang Lun Lee - Making his return to Tasmania, game designer, art curator, and events organiser. Responsible for numerous games, including the critically acclaimed Stickets on iOS.
• Rex Smeal - C'mon, you all know Rex. Fantastic animator/Illustrator/Digital Painter/Game Artist, known for his work with Secret Lab, and his excellent sketch streams.
• Louis Roots - Proprieter of BAR SK, and one of the brains behind SK Games. Ran an an excellent games party last year with TasGDS here in Hobart!