Game Jams – History, Technology, and Organisation

136 Pages·2022·3.13 MB·English

by  Allan Fowler, Foaad Khosmood

Allan Fowler
Foaad Khosmood   Editors
Game Jams
– History,
Technology, and
Organisation
Game Jams – History, Technology, and
Organisation
Allan Fowler (cid:129) Foaad Khosmood
Editors
Game Jams – History,
Technology, and
Organisation
Editors
AllanFowler FoaadKhosmood
UniversityofAuckland CaliforniaPolytechnicStateUniversity
Auckland,NewZealand SanLuisObispo,CA,USA
ISBN978-3-031-15186-6 ISBN978-3-031-15187-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15187-3
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Foreword
Wethinktheideaforacomprehensivebookongamejamshasbeenfloatingaround
for at least 10–15 years. But it was Allan Fowler who finally took the first step in
2020,contactingapublisher,andapproachingFoaadKhosmoodforapartnership.
We knew right away it wasn’t going to be easy. There was and is so much to
say about game jams, many distinct facets, topics and approaches. We both had
lots of ideas, and expectedly so: we were both game jam veterans. We had both
participated,organisedandtaughtaboutgamejams.WewerebothactiveinGlobal
GameJamandjointlyfoundedICGJ.Wehaddoneresearchinvolvinggamejams,
albeit with very different foci. Allan is also an industry alum, having worked on
severalgametitlespriortohisacademiccareer.
There are very few works on the subject published in book form, but two are
importantforus.Thefirstis“GameJamSurvivalGuide”(2012,PacktPublishing)
byChristerKaitila.Thesecondis“GlobalGameJamStories”byLindsayGraceand
SusanGold(2018,LuLu).Christer,whogoesby“McFunkyPants”onsocialmedia,
is a veteran indie developer well known for his energy and optimism. His book
takes the shape of a guide and focuses on the experience of the jammer. Lindsay
andSusancollectedinterestingandinspiringanecdotesabouttheGlobalGameJam
fromorganisersandparticipantsaroundtheworld.Bothbookshadtheirinfluences
onus,andwethanktherespectiveauthors.Ourproposalwasforamorebroadstudy
ofthegamejammovement,startingwithitsprecursorsdecadesago.
Next,wehadtoassembleateamofsuperstarswithintelligence,experienceand
insighttodotheproposaljustice.Ittookawhile,butweendedupwiththerightmix
oftalentstohelpuswritethebook.Wefoundasuperbanddiversegroupofauthors
withmajorpersonalandprofessionalaccomplishmentsonthesubject.Weworked
onandsubmittedaproposaltoSpringerNature,includingalistofproposedchapters
withnamesattachedtothem.Itwaswellreceived.Thecontractsweresigned.The
journeyhadbegun.Thiswas2021.
It would take us nearly another year to complete the text. It turns out directing
a major project with six busy professionals scattered across the globe has its
challenges. We are in five different countries with time zones from UTC-7 to
UTC+12,andallhemispheresarerepresented!
v
vi Foreword
The truth is even as we complete this volume, we do it with the humbling
realisation that there is much more out there. As “insider” as we all are, there are
newergamejamswestudiedforthisbookaboutwhichwehadnopriorinformation.
Younger generations are taking over and making game jams of their own on an
unprecedented scale. Diverse communities are emerging that effortlessly mix and
matchpriorjamconceptstocreatesomethingnewfortheirownneeds.Wehopeto
stayengagedaslongaswecanandcontinuereportingonthisfascinatingsocialand
culturalmovement.
Auckland,NewZealand AllanFowler
SanLuisObispo,CA,USA FoaadKhosmood
December2022
Acknowledgements
They say it takes a village to raise a child; in writing this book, it has taken a
global community of friends and colleagues to put this together. It also has taken
the support and dedication of our families, and without their help, this adventure
wouldneverhavebeenpossible.
Wehavetrulystoodontheshouldersofgiantsandgratefullyacknowledgetheir
support,kindnessandgenerosity.
Inalphabeticalorder:
AaronA.Reed,IndependentResearcher
AdrielWallick
AlexeyIzvalov,KirovogradFlightAcademy
AshleyBrown,UniversityofUtah
Ben“ObiWan”Kenobi,ARAJourneys
BillCrosbie,RaritanValleyCollege
BobbieFletcher,CollegeofEsports
BrendaRomero,RomeroGames
BrianMcDonald,FalmouthUniversity
BrunoCampagnolodePaula,PUCPR
ChrisHecker
Christer“McFunkypants”Kaitila
CiroDurán,BossAlien
DarrenTorpey,RueGiltGroupe
DavidGillette,CalPolySLO
DrewDavidson,CarnegieMellonUniversity
ElonkaDunin
EstherMacCallum-Stewart,StaffordshireUniversity
FatimaRezayee,KabulUniversity
GiselleRosman,KeywordsStudios
GordonBellamy
HamzehAzad,MewGames
HenrietteMyrlund,TellicherryGames
vii
viii Acknowledgements
IanSchreiber,RochesterPolytechnic
JeanetteFalk,UniversityofSalzburg
JimWhitehead,UCSantaCruz
JóhannesG.Porsteinsson
JohnRomero,RomeroGames
JoseZagal,UniversityofUtah
JungSheng“Johnson”Lin
KateEdwards,SetJetters&GlobalGameJam
KosukeKaneko
KyleWiens,iFixit
LalBozgeyikli,UniversityofArizona
LaurieGloge
LindsayGrace,UniversityofMiami
MagySeifEl-Nasr,UCSantaCruz
MichaelHaungs,CalPolySLO
MichaelOscarEsio,Africacomicade
MikeDavies,TheUniversityofAuckland
MikeKasprzak,LudumDare
MikeReddy,UniversityofSouthWales
NickMurray
RamiIsmail
RenataRapyo,RogueSnail
RobinHunicke,Funomena&UCSantaCruz
RomanaRamzan,NoCodeStudio
RunaHaukland,HyperGames
SevenSiegel,HarvardBusinessPublishing
ShinjiR.Yamane
SitheNcube,Nyamakop
SusanGold
TahaRasouli,IGDA
TealeFristoe,NothingSacredGames
ZuraidaButer,Zo-ii,PlayfulArtsFestival
Thankyou,whakawhetaikoe,gracias,arigato¯gozaimashita,kiitos,giitu,goraibh
maithagat,ارًﻛﺷ,shukranlak,(cid:16978)(cid:16978)(cid:1424)!, הדות, مﯾرﮑﺷﺗﻣ ﺎھﮫﭼﺑ,vielenDank,diolch
Auckland,NewZealand AllanFowler
SanLuisObispo,CA,USA FoaadKhosmood
Introduction
What you are now reading is a unique initiative created by people who love game
jams, study game jams and organise game jams. No other book like this exists.
While the idea of a game jam and its predecessors can be traced back decades,
thetermitselfisbarelytwentyyearsold,andformalisedscholarshiparounditisnot
eventen.Weareecstatictobringyouthefirstcomprehensivevolumeontheorigins,
developmentandcontemporarypracticesofgamejams.Withinthesepages,you’ll
learnthegamejamorigins,howjamsaremadeandwheretheyaregoing.You’llget
aglimpseintothediversecultureofgamejamsfromaroundtheworld.You’llalso
gethelpfultipstogetinvolvedyourself,eitherasajammerorajamorganiser.
1 WhatIsaGameJam?
Game jams are basically limited-time events that people (often called “game
jammers” or “jammers”) join to create games. As a term, “game jam” came to
assumeitscurrentmeaninginearly2000s.
By now, there are probably thousands of variations, communities and cultures
aroundtheconcept.Gamesthemselvesarefamousforbeinglooselydefined.Games
may be physical activities, or table-top games, video games, virtual reality games
oracombination.Forexample,theaward-winninggame“JohannSebastianJoust”,
developedinitiallyata2011gamejam,usesphysicalactivities,digitaldevicesand
music,butnotraditionalcomputinginterfacessuchasmonitorsorkeyboards.Jams
canofferavarietyofsharedexperiences:physicalattendanceindoorsoroutdoors,
group travel on transportation vehicles such as ships, planes or trains, or online
community gatherings over the Internet. Jammers can be in teams or participate
solo. Events can last anywhere from a few hours to months. Jams may have strict
constraints on technology, theme, art,gameplay, interaction mode, or they may be
unrestricted.
ix
x Introduction
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