Go to the GGJ 2013 Theme Seeds form to share your theme ideas

The GGJ 2013 Theme Committee asks for -your- input.

As part of a series of changes to Global Game Jam, we have changed hosting facilities and upgraded our website to Drupal 7. It went live with a brand new theme earlier this week. I'm very impressed with our new cloud hosting company Joyent. We met this company at GDC 2012 and it's clear they really value games and have the right expertise for this community.

Among other benefits, they spin their own Solaris based OS and server image ("smart machine") with a complete pre-installed and optimized LAMP stack to make hosting easier. We had been using standard CentOS images with Rackspace in the past. But enough about the geeky stuff!

The Global Game Jam (GGJ), a project of the International Game Developer’s Association (IGDA), announced today it will be shortlisted for inclusion in the upcoming Guinness World Records 2013 Gamer’s Edition after being recognised as the World’s Largest Game Jam. Gaz Deaves, Gaming Editor for Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition, said: "In a time when games studios are expressing concern over the influx of programming talent into their industry, it's great that Global Game Jam can act as fertile ground to nurture the next generation of superstar developers. This is a brilliant example of what a community of like-minded people can achieve and this record is a strong contender for inclusion in the next Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition."

The fourth Global Game Jam was held January 27-29, 2012 in 242 locations worldwide. This year 10,684 individuals participated and 2,209 game projects were created. Jam sites were organized in a record 47 countries, including for the first time in Hungary, Iran, Panama, Peru, Romania and Uruguay.

Will you be at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week? Come and meet jammers, local & global organizers, partners, sponsors and other friends of the Global Game Jam at the most multi-cultural event at GDC. Come and mingle, share experiences and meet friends you didn't even know you had.

Place: The IGDA Booth
Time: Thursday, March 8, 2012, at 9 a.m. (Pacific)

By popular demand, the Global Game Jam 2013 dates are set for '''January 25-27th''' of next year. Thanks to all the organizers who participated in that discussion. (hashtag #ggj13)

In collaboration with hard-working IGDA volunteer and veteran of the game industry Sheri Rubin, several play parties are organized around the world. '''Play Parties?''' Every year thousands of games get made during the Global Game Jam (GGJ) weekend, but it’s hard for anyone to get through them all and help highlight the hard work that went in over that great weekend. By having post-GGJ play parties we can help make sure as many games as possible get looked at, reviewed, and highlighted around the world. "Read more" for upcoming Play Parties.