Are you a gaming enthusiast? Have you ever wondered what goes into making the games you love to play? Then you won’t want to miss the Frederick Game Jam Showcase! On March 21st from 2-5PM the members of Frederick Game Development Meetup will be showcasing the games they made in the recent Global Game Jam.
But What is a Game Jam?
Gather a group of developers and creatives together, give them a theme and a tight timeline, and you’ve got the makings of a game jam. Much like hackathons, game jams are all about collaboration, group creativity, and capitalizing off tight timelines to make impressive progress on new or existing projects. They provide opportunities for game development enthusiasts to connect with other developers and creatives, test out recently learned skills, and experiment with new ideas in a fun, risk-free environment.
In short, game jams are where you’ll find new and seasoned game developers getting better at their craft and having a whole lot of fun!
The Global Game Jam Comes to Frederick
Held at the end of January each year the Global Game Jam is an international event that attracts game developers at host sites around the world for a 48 hour game making frenzy. For the last two years Frederick Game Development Meetup has partnered with Cowork Frederick as a host site for local game developers.
This year 21 members of Frederick Game Dev gathered at Cowork’s 120 E Patrick St location for a weekend of coding and creativity. Once the theme was announced developers wasted no time brainstorming ideas and forming teams. Writers crafted dialogue sequences and storylines, artists created characters and scenery, musicians added the perfect audio touches with sound effects and music, and coders brought it all together for a playable experience.
By the close of the weekend 7 games were submitted to the Global Game Jam’s site. The styles and interpretations on the jam’s theme came in many forms: a co-operative escape from a collapsed mine, a mystical choose-your-own-adventure shopping experience, a third-person fighting game featuring a six-legged dolphin. The variety and number of games produced in just 48 hours was inspiring, and the teamwork it took to produce such a large body of work in such a short period of time was truly impressive.
The Frederick Game Jam Showcase
Now the members of Frederick Game Dev invite you to come play the games they’ve created and meet the developers. Whether you’re interested in participating in future game jams, want to learn about a particular facet of game development, or just want a chance to play some awesome indie games, this showcase is sure to add some fun to your Saturday!
Tickets are free, but you must register to attend.
Your donation will help fund future game jams (donate on ticket page).
Frederick Game Jam Showcase
Saturday, March 21st, 2-5PM
120 E Patrick St
Frederick, MD 21701