Gaming

Global Game Jam 2017 Is Coming Up On January 20-22

Phil Williams

December 1, 2016

The Global Game Jam® (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam event taking place in physical locations across the globe. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. The first Global Game Jam® was held in January, 2009 with 1600 people jamming in 23 countries.By 2016, the event grew to over 630 sites in 93 countries with over 30,000 jammers!

GGJ’s mission is to stimulate innovation, experimentation, and collaboration in games. The annual event normally begins on a Friday afternoon in January and kicks off with video keynotes and advice from leaders in the game development industry. The jam formally begins after an announcement of the year’s theme, kept secret until the last second. All sites worldwide are challenged to make games based upon said theme within 48 hours. The GGJ encourages collaboration and is not a competition. Anyone can apply to host a jam site as long as they have a dedicated jam organizer and a venue with internet access.

The jam, which is fully run by volunteers, is known for fostering friendships while increasing confidence and opportunities within participating communities. Each GGJ event poses an intellectual challenge where people are invited to try new technology and tools while exploring new development roles and skills.

GGJ 2017 will take place January 20-22.

Last Years Trail (2017 GGJ trailer hasn’t been released yet)

Video Source – GlobalGameJam

HISTORY

The Global Game Jam® is the brainchild of Susan Gold in collaboration with Gorm Lai and Ian Schreiber. GGJ was founded in 2008 and inspired by many game jams before it, such as the Indie Game Jam, Ludum Dare and Nordic Game Jam. From 2009-2012, the event was overseen by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Established as an international non-profit, Global Game Jam, Inc. has managed the event since GGJ 2013. The organization has an IRS 501c3 charitable designation and is based in San Luis Obispo, California.

Founding members of Global Game Jam, Inc. (2013) are: Zuraida Buter, Dustin Clingman, Elonka Dunin, Susan Gold, Foaad Khosmood, Gorm Lai, Ian Schreiber.

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The 1st annual Global Game Jam® was held January 30-February 1, 2009, garnering much critical acclaim and success. With over 1600 participants in 23 countries, and a theme of “As long as we have each other, we will never run out of problems,” GGJ 2009 produced 370 games. In 2010, the number of participants increased to over 4300 with 900 finished games on the theme of “Deception.” In 2011, there were 6500 participants in 44 countries creating over 1500 games. The numbers soared in 2012 to over 10,000 participants in 46 countries with over 2100 games made in a single weekend! In 2013, the number of participating countries increased from 46 countries to 63 with over 12,000 participants in 319 locations. 2014 welcomed 72 countries, 23,000+ registered participants in 488 locations with 4292 game projects registered. In 2015, we had over 500 locations around the world: 518 sites, 78 countries, and 28,800 registered participants. 2016 saw over 30,000 jammers across 632 sites in 93 countries make 6,866 games!

The Global Game Jam® Board of Directors includes Gorm Lai (President), Lindsay Grace (VP / Secretary), Susan Gold, & Foaad Khosmood (Treasurer).

The Global Game Jam® 2016 Executive Committee included; Giselle Rosman (Executive Producer), Ashley Alicea, Bruno Campagnolo de Paula, Eoin Carroll, Rebecca Fernandez, Lucy Morris, & Jo Summers.

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