Global Game Jam 2009
Less than two weeks away.
ROCHESTER, NY – January 21, 2009 – From 5:00 p.m. on Friday January 30th, until 5:00 p.m. Sunday, February 1st, more than 1,000 college students, faculty and members of the game industry will join together for a 48 hour game building marathon, in the first Global Game Jam (GGJ). Participants will be given the details of the game design theme, constraints and mechanics allowed when the clock reaches 5:00 p.m. local time in each region. As the time zones change, so will the constraints, mitigating any advantage location might give one team over another. While individual and regional Game Jams have been held in the last few years, there has never been one the size and scope of the GGJ.
“I was looking for a project that explored the incredibly innovative and collaborative nature of video games, and the result is the Global Game Jam, a unique idea space and an amazing experiment in creativity,” said Susan Gold, founder of Global Game Jam. "There is tremendous enthusiasm for the event, demonstrated by the number of locations willing to host it, which really shows the strength and commitment of the game development community. 48 hours isn't a lot of time to make a game, but I'm confident we’re going to have some really fun games come out of the GGJ.”
GGJ is taking advantage of Internet Video Streaming to provide a single keynote speaker for the event, Kyle Gabler, indie developer of the popular game World of Goo. “The next big transformation in gaming won't come from a large game studio with million dollar teams and marketing budgets, it will come from some kid in their bedroom with a few pieces of free software and a never ending supply of caffeine and motivation, said Gabler. “I can't wait to see the scraggly, brilliantly hacked together beginnings of some of the next great games crawl out of these 48 hours.”
GGJ will share the keynote with everyone around the world on YouTube prior to the start of the 1st Global Game Jam in New Zealand. Action from many of the jam locations will be viewable online via webcam, in an arrangement with ustream.tv. After the Game Jam, the GGJ website will host all of the games for free download and play, and allow the community to rate the games. It will also allow people to see the source code of the games and learn from one another. All intellectual property created during the GGJ will be protected under a Creative Commons license. During the upcoming Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco GGJ will share the most innovative games during the education summit.
About Global Game Jam
Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the brainchild of Susan Gold, director of Game Program Review and chair of the Education Special Interest Group of the International Game Developers Association. GGJ brings together talented individuals and teams from around the globe and rallies them around a central them, for which they have 48 hours to create their game. With more than 1,000 participants in 22 countries, GGJ is a showcase of the creativity and talent of the international game development community. GGJ is sponsored by leading companies including Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Mekensleep Studios, and Unity Technologies. For more information on the Global Game Jam, including a list of locations, a sample schedule for the three days at each site and more, visit at http://globalgamejam.org
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Contact:
Stephen Jacobs
585-278-6118
info@globalgamejam.org