Gamedzhemy and what they eat
Hi, Habr!
Over the past year, such a concept as gamejam has become very popular in Russia and in the world. Almost every week a large number of game developers are going to make a game on the topic of jam in a short time. But there are people who are still new to this concept. This article is for them.
Let's start with the very concept of "gamejam." Formally, this is a competition for high-speed game development (Game - game, Jam - from the musical concept of the jam session, when musicians gather and improvise without special preliminary preparation). Very similar to specialized hackathons. The phenomenon of recent years is gaining increasing popularity in the world. At the last gamejam Ludum Dare , which takes place 3 times a year, 2538 works were collected, and at the globalgamejam.org - the largest gamejam - 4289 works in January 2014.
Most often gamejams last 48 hours, although in this matter the timing depends only on the organizers of a particular gamejam.
')
Digital content creation tools are simplified, made available to a wider range of people. Convenient game editors appear: Unity , Game Maker , Construct 2 , not forgetting the good old Flash, etc. Accordingly, an increasing number of people are starting to participate in jams, and even those who are not directly part of the igrodel community.
Most often free, although sometimes there are options for gamejam, where you have to pay a certain amount (usually symbolic) to take part in it.
Participation in gamejams by industry professionals allows you to stretch your bones and test yourself in high-speed game development, try a prototype for which they don’t have time and motivation outside of gamejam. But also for beginners, gamejam makes it possible to understand what game development is in principle, to master the tools and technologies, and, of course, to catch the joy of creativity in its purest form.
The main task in gamejam is to have time to collect something finished, and not all participants cope with this task.
Therefore, the main tips:
In general, the victory in gamejame is somewhat reminiscent of the victory of the game on the market when it hits the first places of the tops. You have a limited resource - time and team, there is an idea (new? Original?) And its implementation (good / not so). You have an audience that you need to get into: other participants or visitors to the site where gamejam passes. All of these factors, as in the case of a commercial product, ultimately create success in gamejam (as they create it on popular platforms). Therefore, taking part in gamejams, you can experience how the world of “real” gamedev turns in miniature.
Also, runet often hosts one-time gamejams devoted to one or another event. In general, holding together with them hackathons or gamejams and awarding the best participants with prizes was a good tone for large IT events. Assembly, Moscow DevGAMM, Starcon, Igromir and right now the festival NextCastle Party is holding a gamejack dedicated to the festival, on the Geek Party website. There is not too late to fit in, until the end left almost 3 days. The total prize fund of 4.5 thousand dollars.
In the future, due to even greater popularization of both video games and development tools, the gamejacking movement will grow. It is possible that the age range of the target audience of gamejams will expand, and those will be held at the school level, along with math olympiads.
Also, it is possible that we will see more and more ready-made commercial products that will be assembled in jams, as the quality of the participants' work is steadily increasing. We can witness large-scale online TV shows, where presenters, each hour worth $ 10k, will rush around the hall filled with gems and monitors, interview them, VJs will stream the development of special effects on giant monitors, and viewers will play fresh prototypes and give advice online.
By the way, there was an attempt to launch one such show, but it failed . Who knows, maybe not yet time.
Most importantly, taking part in such an event, do not be afraid to reveal their creative abilities, create, dare and experiment!
Thank you for reading to the end. I will be glad to comment :)
Over the past year, such a concept as gamejam has become very popular in Russia and in the world. Almost every week a large number of game developers are going to make a game on the topic of jam in a short time. But there are people who are still new to this concept. This article is for them.
What it is
Let's start with the very concept of "gamejam." Formally, this is a competition for high-speed game development (Game - game, Jam - from the musical concept of the jam session, when musicians gather and improvise without special preliminary preparation). Very similar to specialized hackathons. The phenomenon of recent years is gaining increasing popularity in the world. At the last gamejam Ludum Dare , which takes place 3 times a year, 2538 works were collected, and at the globalgamejam.org - the largest gamejam - 4289 works in January 2014.
Most often gamejams last 48 hours, although in this matter the timing depends only on the organizers of a particular gamejam.
')
Instruments
Digital content creation tools are simplified, made available to a wider range of people. Convenient game editors appear: Unity , Game Maker , Construct 2 , not forgetting the good old Flash, etc. Accordingly, an increasing number of people are starting to participate in jams, and even those who are not directly part of the igrodel community.
Participation
Most often free, although sometimes there are options for gamejam, where you have to pay a certain amount (usually symbolic) to take part in it.
Participation in gamejams by industry professionals allows you to stretch your bones and test yourself in high-speed game development, try a prototype for which they don’t have time and motivation outside of gamejam. But also for beginners, gamejam makes it possible to understand what game development is in principle, to master the tools and technologies, and, of course, to catch the joy of creativity in its purest form.
The main task in gamejam is to have time to collect something finished, and not all participants cope with this task.
Therefore, the main tips:
- Game design should be as simple as possible, and contain no more than one killer feature.
- A good idea would be to focus on the setting and atmospheric of the game - very often the voting and choice of works are carried out by the participants themselves and the bright game world will be judged by the right.
- In no case should you try to master new technologies during gamejam. If you are going to work with a new tool, it is better to master it in advance.
- It sounds trite, but plan your time. The issue of time management in a short period of time is particularly acute.
- And finally, take a break and sleep before the match. Your body will thank you.
In general, the victory in gamejame is somewhat reminiscent of the victory of the game on the market when it hits the first places of the tops. You have a limited resource - time and team, there is an idea (new? Original?) And its implementation (good / not so). You have an audience that you need to get into: other participants or visitors to the site where gamejam passes. All of these factors, as in the case of a commercial product, ultimately create success in gamejam (as they create it on popular platforms). Therefore, taking part in gamejams, you can experience how the world of “real” gamedev turns in miniature.
The most famous
English speaking
- Global Game Jam . Held once a year in January. “Headquarters”, where the development is underway, open around the world.
- Ludum Dare , The same old school gamej. No prizes or sponsors. Most of the work is collected in the nomination “solo” for 48 sleepless hours.
- Nordic Game Jam is a major event in Copenhagen, held under the auspices of the local university.
Russian speakers
- Games Jam is a platform where gamejams of various subjects and directions take place.
- Geek Party is the first regular gemgem in Russia, held in St. Petersburg.
Also, runet often hosts one-time gamejams devoted to one or another event. In general, holding together with them hackathons or gamejams and awarding the best participants with prizes was a good tone for large IT events. Assembly, Moscow DevGAMM, Starcon, Igromir and right now the festival NextCastle Party is holding a gamejack dedicated to the festival, on the Geek Party website. There is not too late to fit in, until the end left almost 3 days. The total prize fund of 4.5 thousand dollars.
A look into the future
In the future, due to even greater popularization of both video games and development tools, the gamejacking movement will grow. It is possible that the age range of the target audience of gamejams will expand, and those will be held at the school level, along with math olympiads.
Also, it is possible that we will see more and more ready-made commercial products that will be assembled in jams, as the quality of the participants' work is steadily increasing. We can witness large-scale online TV shows, where presenters, each hour worth $ 10k, will rush around the hall filled with gems and monitors, interview them, VJs will stream the development of special effects on giant monitors, and viewers will play fresh prototypes and give advice online.
By the way, there was an attempt to launch one such show, but it failed . Who knows, maybe not yet time.
Resources for review:
- An interesting experience from regular authors Habr - MOBA for 2 days for NextCastle DevCup .
- Book Game Jam Survival Guide - a lot of interesting tips for beginners.
- Super Game Jam is a series of short documentaries about famous indie developers taking part in gamejam.
- Opinion against on Gamasutra.
- From gamejam to release! - An article about how to bring the game, made on gamejam, to a commercial release.
Conclusion
Most importantly, taking part in such an event, do not be afraid to reveal their creative abilities, create, dare and experiment!
Thank you for reading to the end. I will be glad to comment :)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/241381/
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