For its sixth year, students will participate in the Global Game Jam (GGJ), a challenge sponsored by the School of Information Technology and Computing.
According to the official website, globalgamejam.org, “the goal is to come together and make a video game, or non-digital game like a board game or card game.”
Sharing a common theme and constraints, participants create a game from beginning to end in 48 hours. The brief time span is meant to help encourage creative thinking to result in small but innovative and experimental games, the website said.
The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday in Mabee Business Building Room 301 with a kickoff party. The party will include pizza and drinks, and the participants will discover the theme of this year’s GGJ.
Students will meet at allotted times over the course of the weekend, with the event coming to a close at 6 p.m. Sunday, 48 hours after the kickoff.
Students may register up until Friday afternoon. To register for GGJ, emails may be sent to sitc@acu.edu, where students will be helped through the registration process.
Jenni Williams, enrollment and student development manager for the SITC, has worked this year to raise awareness for the GGJ and gather students.
“Really all majors are welcome to participate; we definitely are interested in having as many students [there who] want to be there,” Williams said.
With a diversity of student backgrounds and skills, ranging from novice to experienced, the event becomes collaborative and fun, said Williams, with added stress because of the time frame. Students with creative minds, or interest in game development, are encouraged to participate.
In the past, students have developed mission-oriented games, mobile apps and framework for projects they continue to work on in the hopes of selling to stores.
This year, the turnout is expected to be 25 students. Past years’ averages have been around 15, but the small number creates a less intimidating community for students who want to try, Williams said.
The jam site organizer for ACU is Dr. Brian Burton, associate professor of information technology.
“We are really excited to participate in GGJ this year. Not only do we have a lot of Digital Entertainment Technology majors and minors who will be participating, but we are expecting a significant participation from students in other majors as well. This is a chance to bring your ideas to the table for a game and see how much you can get done in a dedicated weekend. Best of all, there will be food available during the Jam, so you don’t have to leave, you can focus on your game,” stated Burton.
For more information, students can contact sitc@acu.edu, or visit the ACU registration site at http://globalgamejam.org/2017/jam-sites/ggj-abilene-christian-university.
To find out more about GGJ, review their frequently asked questions on globalgamejam.org/faq.
