Global Game Jam – January 29-31

Registration for the Global Game Jam is open!  Act quickly because attendance will be capped at the first 100 participants.

The Global Game Jam was founded in 2008 as an International Game Development Association (IGDA) activity that occurs around the globe for the exact same 48 hour time period.  At this time, there are over 100 different game jam locations and last year, there were more than1600 participants in 23 countries resulting in the creation of 370 games.

Pittsburgh will play host as a global game jam location to be once again housed at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. (map)

What is a game jam?
It's a crazy fun weekend where you team up with other artists, programmers, designers, etc. to bust out a small game or game prototype in 48 hours with little to no sleep.  And it is a change to have your game seen around the world.  See more information at the wiki located at: http://globalgamejam.org/wiki/ggj-wiki

When is it?
The Global Game Jam will start at 5:00PM Friday, January 29, 2010 and run through 5:00PM Sunday, January 31, 2010. All participants in the Global Game Jam will be constrained by the same rules and limitations, with each time zone having one distinct constraint.  View the tentative schedule here: http://globalgamejam.org/wiki/ggj-wiki

Who can sign-up?
Anyone 18 or over that has a passion for making indie games on little sleep.   Whether you're a student at AIP, CMU, or another local school, or a professional working at a local game & entertainment companies, sign up now so we can have a strong Pittsburgh game industry representation for the Global Game Jam!

What are the rules?
This game jam is different from other game jams in a couple of ways:
1.      There is a theme that will not be announced until the game jam starts
2.      There will be one unique constraint for our time zone
3.      There is no 'chosen' platform – your team can choose to develop for the pc, iPhone, etc.
4.      The teams are not to be pre-formed… so that true collaboration can occur during the 48 hours.

How do I sign up?
This year sign-up is different.  There are 2 parts.  Please register at www.globalgamejam.org.  As you register and create an account, please select the ETC – PIGDA site location.  (Create an account, log in, go to the edit tab on my account page and select the 'profile' to find where to select the site.) The website will allow us to send you informational emails, etc.  It will also facilitate the submission of your games.

What does it cost?
You also need to submit a $10 fee to reserve your seat and to defer costs of snacks.  This will be facilitated via the technical magic of paypal.  Once you register on the main site, we will direct you to provide us with follow-up information and submit your fee.  We have a hard limit of 100 attendees, so sign-up early.  Last year people came from Ohio and DC to our event and we had press coverage throughout the weekend.

Can I volunteer instead of making a game?
Yes, we are in need of site facilitators as well as volunteer TA’s that can help with challenging programming or artistic issues. 

Questions?
Any questions can be directed to Tracy Brown at tracykobedabrown@gmail.com