Game Jam
Game jam is a game development competition. Participants compete to make a game from scratch that fits the game jam theme within a certain time frame. It can be as short as 12 hours, or even last for more than 2 weeks.
Game jam events can help you establish new connections, gain experience, and test your development skills or existing independent game ideas. Plus, they are quite fun! :)
History of Game Jam Events
As is known, the 0th Indie Game Jam was officially launched on March 15, 2002. A select group of recognized designers and programmers were invited to participate in the game jam that offered a challenge to create a game in a custom engine within just four days.
A month later, the first virtual game jam was launched on a forum that today's jammers may recognize: Ludum Dare (it means "Give a game" in Latin).
The Ludum Dare community proposed a game development competition based on themes rather than technological constraints, and it became so popular that the community continues to organize game jam events even after 20 years.
Why Should You Participate in a Game Jam Event?
1- You Generate New Ideas
The sense of obligation accelerates the production of new inventions.
For example, participating in a game jam about "puppies and clouds" will force you to come up with ideas you would never otherwise think of if you prefer to make dark, story-driven games.
2- You Improve Your Time Management
Working against time has a habit of focusing minds. You quickly learn what are the must-have sections of a game and what sections should be like. If you're worried about time restrictions, you might be surprised to learn that many jam participants find this quite liberating.
The more you compete in game jams, the more fluent your workflows become.
3- You Establish New Connections
Whether your jam encourages teamwork or lets you fly solo, jams are a great way to meet like-minded people and get your name out there.
Independent game development can sometimes be a lonely experience. Participating in Game Jam allows you to make new friends and form development teams to share your journey.
4- You Have Fun!
Games are fun, hence game jams are fun too! You can team up with your friends and compete to make fun games, and enjoy the competition in the process. It's an undeniable fact that game jam events are as fun as they are stressful! :)
What Are the Most Popular Game Jam Events?
The number of platforms and communities organizing game jam events is increasing day by day. You are almost certain to find a jam event to participate in on any given day of the year.
While it would be impossible to list every community that organizes a game jam event, here's a short summary of some of the most popular ones:
You can also access a comprehensive game jam calendar that will help you keep track of all ongoing game jam events by clicking the link.
How Does the Game Jam Format Work?
1- Location
Global Game Jam takes place every year at the end of January in over 100 countries and over 800 locations worldwide. Some game jam events may also take place locally at universities, conference halls or other special areas. Ludum Dare is the most popular example of game jams where participants mainly participate from home.
2- Time Constraint
Game jam events typically have restrictive time limits ranging from a few hours to a few days. This time constraint is to simulate the pressure of the final delivery date in real projects and encourage creativity among ideas produced by game jam teams.
3- Theme
A game jam event could revolve around a theme that all games developed within the event must adhere to. To discourage participants from planning in advance and using pre-developed materials, the theme is usually announced a short time before the event starts. Themes also aim to impose limitations that encourage creativity for developers.
A competitive game jam event, Ludum Dare 24, included the theme of "Evolution". As stated in the Ludum Dare rules, all participants in the competition were suggested to create a game based on this theme. However, the rules also stated that it was not mandatory for participants to use the theme.
4- Technology
The type of technology can vary based on the type of game being developed and relevant different disciplines. In a game jam event, teams usually consist of at least one programmer and one artist. Programmers in the event sometimes work in Microsoft Visual Studio for development in the .NET Framework application, or in an environment like Eclipse for a Java based application.
An artist could use tools like Adobe Photoshop, Blender 3D or Autodesk Maya. Other tools used by developers can include various framework applications like Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Unity, Godot and Microsoft XNA Framework. Participants might also use communication services like Discord and version control systems like GitHub.
Are There Any Popular Games That Came out of Game Jams?
Yes, Goat Simulator.
Goat Simulator, a game where you play as a goat in an open world with Unreal's physics engine, typically causing as much chaos as possible, is a Game Jam game.
Originally created in 2014 as a "joke" for an internal game jam, the game went viral due to its absurd concept. It quickly gained recognition thanks to PewDiePie and a few other popular YouTubers, eventually being released on Steam and reaching incredible sales numbers. It was so successful that it even got released on Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Playstation in 2019!
