Global Game Jam

Welcome to the Global Game Jam-Manual. The purpose of this manual is to aid you in creating a gamejam.

A gamejam is an event where people with a passion for making fun, creative, experimental games come together and spend a short period of time together making games, game-prototypes and game-demos.

Most of the advice in this manual is based on our experience with Nordic Game Jam. Nordic Game Jam started in 2006 and takes place every year at the beginning of February at the IT-University in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has grown to a staggering 150 participants and isn't showing any sign of stopping.

However, this manual is also meant to help you in creating smaller, more intimate gamejams.

Everything in this manual is voluntary; - you don't have to do it the way we've done it. The most important thing is that you arrange it in a way that makes it fun for everybody involved, including yourself. It's not fun if you're not having fun.

The manual starts with what needs to be done before the game jam, what needs to be done during the game jam and what needs to be done after. The main text on each issue covers the essentials (the what, why, where & who) and the text box at the buttom of each page contains a checklist for you to use. Remember to read the whole manual before you begin, - most of the ”during” events have to be prepared ”before”.

Read the manual, make up your own mind on what kind of gamejam you want to make and get plugging. Making a gamejam is hard work but it's also incredibly fun.

The manual focuses on 3 sizes of jams: small (10-40 participants), medium (40-80) and large (80-200). Each of these sizes present their own issues and challenges and the issues are addressed in various sections. You can improvise a lot of stuff during a small jam, you need to organize a lot on a medium jam and you really need to work for your organization to run smoothly at a large jam

So: Good luck.

Keep us posted on what you do - we'd love to hear about it. You can contact us via the Contact form, via the mailing lists at BaseCamp, or via your regional coordinator (who should get in touch with you as soon as you register a site).

Good luck!

The Global Game Jam Directors