Gary SpringArms - Global Game Jam 17 Mac OS

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(Redirected from Game jams)
Participants in Free Knowledge Game Jam 2015

A game jam is a contest where participants try to make a video game from scratch. Depending on the format, participants might work independently, or in teams. The contest duration usually ranges from 24 to 72 hours. Participants are generally programmers, game designers, artists, writers, and others in game development-related fields.

Traditionally, game jams focus on video games;[1] however, board games have also been the subject of game jams.[2]

History[edit]

← Global Game Jam Day One Vicky wins MCV Women In Games 'Rising Star Of The Year' 2018! → Following on from our Global Game Jam – Day One post, we are proud to present Untested Waters – our Global Game Jam 2017 game based on the theme ‘Waves' and a Farset Labs Selected Highlight Game! VMware Horizon changes its name back and forth, which is really confusing and frustrating. It was first sold under the name 'VMware VDM'; but with the release of version 3.0.0 in 2008, it was changed to 'VMware View'; and changed again to 'VMware Horizon View' with the launch of version 6 in 2014; when version 7 was released, it changed its name to 'VMware Horizon' (Horizon for. The Global Game Jam is the world's largest game creation event taking place around the globe, typically at physical locations. A 'game jam' is essentially a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today's heavily connect.

The Art & Business of Making Games. Video game industry news, developer blogs, and features delivered daily.

The term game jam is a composition of the words game and jam session. A jam session describes the musical act of producing music with little to no prior preparation in an effort to develop new material or simply to practice. In the same way, game jams are events in which game developers prototype experimental ideas into playable games.[3]

In March 2002, video game developersChris Hecker and Sean Barrett, interested in the capability of modern hardware in rendering a large number of sprites, worked with Doug Church, Jonathan Blow, and Casey Muratori in developing a specialized game engine capable of rendering a massive number of sprites. Hecker and Barrett invited a small group of video game developers to meet in Hecker's office in Oakland, California for the purpose of creating innovative video games using this newly built engine. Hecker and Barrett named this gathering the 0th Indie Game Jam, a game design and programming event 'designed to encourage experimentation and innovation in the game industry'.[4][5]

Format[edit]

Location[edit]

A finished game being presented at Global Game Jam 2014, Jyväskylä, Finland

Some game jams are local events, taking place in universities, conference halls, or other private spaces.[6] The Global Game Jam takes place at the end of January of every year, with over 800 locations in 100+ countries around the world.[7] The Ludum Dare is an example of a virtual game jam, an event where participants largely remain at home, but present their efforts at the conclusion of the jam.[5]

Time constraint[edit]

Game jams typically have restrictive time limits, ranging from a few hours to several days. This time constraint is meant to simulate the pressure of a deadline and to encourage creativity among ideas produced by game jam teams.[2][3]

Theme[edit]

A game jam may be centered on a theme, which all games developed within the jam must adhere to. The theme is usually announced shortly before the event begins, in order to discourage participants from planning for the event beforehand and from using previously-developed material.[3] In addition, themes are meant to place restrictions on developers, which encourages creativity.[8]

Ludum Dare 24, a competitive game jam event, featured the theme of 'Evolution'. As stated by the Ludum Dare rules, all participants in the competition were recommended to create a game based on this theme. However, the rules also stated that participants were not required to use the theme, which allowed for games to be made outside of the theme.[9][10]

Technology[edit]

Gary Spring Arms - Global Game Jam 17 Mac Os Catalina

Game

The type of technology can vary depending on the type of game being developed, and among the different disciplines involved.

In a video game jam, teams are generally made up of at least a programmer and an artist.[3] A programmer would work in a development environment such as Microsoft Visual Studio for development in a .NET Framework application or Eclipse for a Java-based application. An artist may use tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Blender 3D or Autodesk Maya. Other tools used by developers include videogame frameworks such as the Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Unity, Godot, and Microsoft XNA Framework. If in a team, developers might use communication services such as Discord, and source control services such as GitHub.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Sara Cornish, Matthew Farber, Alex Fleming, Kevin Miklasz (2017). The Game Jam Guide. Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  1. ^Shin, Kaneko, Matsui, Mikami, Nagaku, Nakabayashi, Ono, Yamane,and lovesplayingslender.Localizing Global Game Jam. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  2. ^ abGlobal Game Jam. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  3. ^ abcdJagnow, Rob. Game Jam Central, Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  4. ^Hecker, Chris. 0th Indie Game Jam. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  5. ^ abChen, Sande (August 9, 2017). 'A Brief History of Game Jams'. Gamasutra. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  6. ^TOJam. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  7. ^Khosmood, Foaad. 'Global Game Jam FAQ'. globalgamejam.org. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  8. ^STL Game Jam. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  9. ^Ludum Dare 24 - Evolution. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  10. ^Ludum Dare Rules and Guide. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Game_jam&oldid=1014971575'

Back in March 2002, developers Chris Hecker and Sean Barrett created a game engine capable of rendering a massive number of sprites. To test their creation, they invited a group of game developers to their offices to try it out and experiment with new ideas, thus spawning Game Jam (read more about it here). Today, there are hundreds of events, held across the globe every year. Game Jam's are a great chance for game programmers, designers and artists to get together and create exciting and innovative projects, without the pressure of the real world.

Game Jams have given birth to a variety of interesting game ideas that went on to become huge successes, such as Surgeon Simulator, Goat Simulator and Super Hot. The essence of jams is to give developers an opportunity to forget about aesthetics, and polished mechanics. Instead, it's a chance to focus on giving birth to an intriguing idea, creating a prototype that can give players new and exciting experiences.

Why have so many Game Jam games, gone on to become successful commercial releases? Because the initial idea of those games was created with one thing and one thing only in mind; how do I create something that's fun?

The term Game Jam is comprised of the words ‘game' and ‘jam session', a way to describe the collaborative act of producing something with no prior preparation in an effort to develop new material or simply to practice (not the sweet and sticky crushed fruit that you would normally spread on your toast!). Although the original intention of a Game Jam has never been to create a complete, polished game and ship it off to its respective store, many successful breakout games do spawn from Jams. As GameSparks recently announced its first ever Game Jam, #SparksJam (find out more here), we thought we would take a look at the greatest games to have been produced by a jammer.

Created: In 48 hours at the 2009 Global Game Jam

Creators: Created by developers of Super Meat Boy, Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel

Tell me more: This is a perfect example of an idle clicker we all hate to love. As you can expect from a clicker, the concept is pretty simple. There is an empty bedroom, and a light switch, all you need to do is click the light switch on and off to keep collecting items that slowly fill the room.

It may not initially sound like the most immersive or engaging game ever to be created, but after trying the game out for ourselves, and although we all hate to admit it, AVGM is wildly addictive.

But that would be the point. In the second instalment of the widely popular indie game documentary, Indie Game Life After, Edmund McMillen said that AVGM was a prime representation of how easily players can be manipulated into spending extended periods of time doing repetitive tasks through simple positive reinforcement.

Created: Created at the 2013 Ludum Dare

Creator: Ján Ilavský

Tell me more: Ludum Dare distinguishes itself from the myriad of other events by asking its participants to give something back to the community. Namely, making source code publicly available for download.

After taking part with only one working hand, having broken his arm in a kickbike accident, Ján Ilavský never expected to see variations of his creation popping up on app stores. And so, a little over a year later, revived his jam project, releasing Chameleon Run into the world.

After working with Noodlecake Games, Chameleon Run eventually became an App Store success, even going on to win the Apple Design Award. Not bad for game initially developed with only one fully functioning arm!

The game is an autorunner with a twist. As the name of the game suggests, you can change your character's colour, as you run through the course, but your colour must match the platform you land on.

Ironically, despite making a game defined by colour, Ján is colour blind and relied on his wife, who went on to pick the pink and yellow look of the game.

Created: Created in 2013 at the Oculus VR Jam

Creator: Created by Sunken Places

Tell me More: Due for release in 2016, Classroom Aquatic is quite possibly the only underwater trivia game we have ever played. You play as a dolphin facing exam conditions in a classroom, trying to cheat off other dolphins in order to complete the test. Sunken Places have smartly used VR technology as a way for you to lean over and turn your head to get sneak a look at classmates answers.

Created: Created at Coffee Stain Studios internal game jam, after finishing Sanctum 2.

Creator: Created by the Coffee Stains Studios

Tell me More: Goat Simulator was never meant to be a commercial release. It started as a simple prototype that employees at Coffee Stains Studios were having fun playing, but the current generation's love affair with ridiculous game concepts, and the nation's obsession with YouTube, subsequently led to its release in 2014. Since then the game has been made available on Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

Possibly most interestingly, at the 2016 Game Developers Conference, Ibrisagic revealed that Goat Simulator had generated more than $12 million in revenue, compared to both Sanctum and Sanctum 2 which made under $2 million each.

Created: Emerged from the 26th Ludum Dare in 2013
Creator: Created by Deconstructeam

Tell me More: Created within 72 hours as an entry for Ludum Dare#26, Gods Will Be Watching originally consisted of a single scene scenario, where the player is forced to make difficult moral decisions, with the goal of helping people survive winter on an alien planet. The complete version expanded this initial concept into an immersive narrative that had us all gripped.

After the competition, Deconstructeam launched an Indigogo campaign with a goal of €8,000. The campaign ended on 15 August 2013, having raised €20,385.

Created: Created in the 2015 Global Game Jam in under 48 hours.

Creators: Aj Kolec, Jessica Jackson, Colton Spross, and Josh Faubel.

Tell me more: Home Improvisation is a game about assembling Ikea furniture. A task that can sometimes prove notoriously difficult in reality, but you would think that it would be relatively straightforward in the virtual world, especially without the hassle of having to lift and move things yourself.

With no instructions on how the furniture should be constructed and an unlimited number of possible ways to construct them. Home Improvisation is remarkably tricky, but surprisingly fun. This all adds up to making the game a YouTuber's favourite, with 13 million views on YouTube, to date.

Created: Created in a 72 hour jam for the PewDiePie vs Indies YouTuber hosted Game Jam in 2014

Gary Spring Arms - Global Game Jam 17 Mac Os Download

Creator: Created by the Askiisoft Games team, a group of independant game developers currently creating free content for the gaming community.

Tell me more: OverPowered starts off feeling like any typical hardcore platformer, with hidden traps and ridiculous obstacles that you can only hope to get past through a series of trial and errors.

When the gamer's rage has well and truly taken over, and you think all hope is lost, faith is restored and you find the hero's orb, transforming you into an invincible being immune to any and all obstacles, even the final boss only takes one hit to obliterate. Reminiscent of One Punch Man, this originally tough platformer gives players the satisfaction of finally beating up all the obstacles that were the cause of so many previous deaths.

Created: Created at the end of 2015 for Sumo Digital's Inaugural Game Jam

Creator: Seb Liese, part of Sumo Digital's Little Big Planet Team.

Tell me more: Seb has an interesting origin story, his previous profession had nothing to do with gaming, he used to a biology teacher in Holland. While teaching, Seb was leading a secret double life – being a creator on Little Big Planet, becoming one of the most popular on the game. Before long, his talent was identified, leading to a change of career and joining Sumo Digital in its Sheffield HQ. It was after this he came up with Snake Pass at the team's Game Jam.

The initial game Seb created was aptly named 'real snake physics'. After the game had won the Sumo Digital Game Jam, Seb was given a team of his own to flesh out and create Snake Pass.

Created: The initial idea of Superhot was born from the 7 Day First Person Shooter Game Jam (7DFPS)

Creators: Created by The Bricky Blues

Tell me more: Super Hot is a first person Shooter, where time moves, only when you move. Letting us all act out our matrix fantasies. From this simple game design spawned one of the fastest growing games to come out of a game jam. Super Hot went through the Steam Greenlight process in a single weekend, and its Kickstarter goal of raising $100,000 was fully funded within only 23 hours.

At present, a quarter of a million dollars has been raised for Super Hot. It has become such a YouTube favourite that there are hundreds of thousands of videos related to the game, helping to boost its popularity.

Created: Surgeon Simulator's initial version was created within 48 hours at Global Game Jam 2013

Creators: Tom Jackson, Jack Good, Luke Williams and James Broadley of Bossa Studios.

Tell me more: Surgeon simulator, is a pretty self-explanatory game, except unlike real surgeries (I hope!), the procedure is deemed a success if the player manages to remove the old organ and throw the replacement into the body of the patient before he dies of blood loss.

As well as the weird and whacky implements this game offers to players, Surgeon Simulator also uses interesting gameplay controls. Using the keyboard. you use your left hand to control which fingers you'd like to grip, and the right hand to control the movement and twist of the hand. Surgeon Simulator has become an incredibly well-known game, a YouTuber's delight and has sold over two million copies since release.





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