The Global Game Jam 2020 has now started in all sites around the world, which means we can finally announce to the public this year's theme, which is...
Repair
The theme reveal clip at the end of the GGJ20 keynote video showed objects in various states of repair, breaking and repairing buildings and pots, repairing relationships, and plants repairing themselves.
The theme is always decided over months of deliberation by an amazing creative team with a wide mix of experience and views on the game design process. This year our committee consisted of:
Nomi
Nomi is a video creator whose mission is to make you forget about everything for a while with videos. When she’s not making videos, Nomi runs Gæmz Meetup to share art/experimental games stuff and everything and also to do more game jams.
You can see Nomi’s work at http://www.thenomi.com.
Anne B. J. Clausen
Anne is a game designer who specializes in local multiplayer games. She loves exploring alternative controllers, and has previously organized Alt.Ctrl Jam. She has worked at KnapNok/NapNok Games, and is now a part-time lecturer at the IT University of Copenhagen, switching between teaching game development and taking care of her baby at home. She’s previously participated in GGJ, where she made crowd games (local multiplayer for LOTS of people!).
You can find her on Twitter at @Djscoretrick.
Shringi Kumari
Shringi Kumari is a seasoned game designer/developer with 10+ years of work experience across several countries. She is currently working on a game about failed communications, and another about teenage street gangs in London. In her PhD she is researching the application of stage magic principles in game design, which she has spoken about at prestigious (academic and industry) conferences. She is a published writer (poetry, fiction) - her recently published a book "The Saree Shop" explores topics of identity, the idea of home, the burden/relief of culture, and the dynamics of human relations.
You can read some of her work on https://medium.com/@shringikumari and her website - shringikumari.com.
Richard A. Bartle
Dr Richard A. Bartle is Honorary Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Essex, UK. He is best known for having co-written the first virtual world, MUD, in 1978, and for his 1996 Player Types model, which has seen widespread adoption by the MMO industry. His 2003 book Designing Virtual Worlds is the standard text on the subject, and he is an influential writer on all aspects of MMO design and development. In 2010, he was the first recipient of the prestigious GDC Online Game Legend award.
You can see Richard’s work at https://mud.co.uk/richard/.
Victor Breum
Victor Breum (he/him) is a game designer from Copenhagen, Denmark. He leads the organization of the iconic Nordic Game Jam, the origin of Global Game Jam, with 5 other great organizers. He studies Game Direction at the National Film School of Denmark, and he recently got an Honourable Mention at the IGF for Best Student Game, for a 'music game - it's like a music video, but it's a game!' He also used to design treasure hunts for adults at fancy castles and museums in Copenhagen and Vienna for the Danish company Mystery Makers.
Victor loves groundbreaking, rich games that give, instead of take. Physical games, digital games, games take their place in the world seriously, games with their own unique texture, and... games that do weird stuff with music.
Here he is, disguised as a website: victorbreum.com.
Tim Garbos
Tim Garbos (he/him) is creative director at Triband, a small games studio based in Copenhagen. They just released a game called WHAT THE GOLF? - a golf game for people who hate golf.
You can see Tim’s work at http://timgarbos.com/.
Laura E. Hall
Laura E. Hall (she/they) is an artist, writer, puzzle-maker, and immersive environment and narrative designer living in Portland, Oregon. Her work focuses on the intersections between art, culture, and technology, especially in gaming. She is interested in puzzles, environmental narrative and player behavior, and has participated in Global Game Jam every year since 2013.
She designs escape room puzzle games with Meridian Adventure Co. in Portland, Oregon, serves on the board for the Portland Indie Game Squad (PIGSquad), and is the author of Katamari Damacy (Boss Fight Books) and Planning Your Escape: Strategy Secrets to Make You an Escape Room Superstar (Tiller Press).
You can see Laura’s work at lauraehall.com.
Many thanks to the whole team - we can't wait to see what our jammers come up with this year!
"Sewing Machine" by dak0rn is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0