Yeah it’s pretty crappy out this morning — ice, slush, impending snow. Great time to stay inside and play some videogames. No signs of spring for quite a while. However, if you’re a hard-core gamer or dabble in building your own games, Pittsburgh will be paradise this weekend.
More than a thousand video game enthusiasts scattered across 14 time zones, including a contingent at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), will spend 48 hours building games as part of the first Global Game Jam. Game-building marathons, known as game jams, have grown in popularity in recent years, but this is the first time that anyone has attempted to use the Internet and its streaming video capabilities to tie together simultaneous jams around the globe. Game design themes, constraints and mechanics will be announced at the beginning of the jam, with constraints altered for each time zone to mitigate any advantage of global location.
ETC alumnus Kyle Gabler, developer of the award-winning “World of Goo” game, will be the global event’s keynote speaker. The Global Game Jam is an initiative of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Education Special Interest Group.
The ETC and the Pittsburgh chapter of the IGDA have partnered to host one of the venues, which is open to any and all comers. Participants from as far away as Cleveland already are confirmed.
When: 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 30, through 5 p.m., Sunday Feb. 1.
Where: The Randy Pausch Interdisciplinary Studio, ETC, 700 Technology Drive.
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If you’re interested to compare the Pittsburgh GGJ experience with that of another “P-city” (Perth, Australia) then you’ll find an interview, photos & screenshots on my blog.
Hope GGJ was a good experience for you – I hope there’s one closer to me in 2010!
(Alas Perth my home is a 5hr plane flight!)