A group of students and alumni from the College’s Game Development program are gearing up for the Global Game Jam Jan 29-31.
This will be the first time Niagara College is hosting a Global Game Jam event, which is taking place in more than 600 locations around the world from Jan 29-31. Participants must try to develop a game – a board game or video game – within the 48-hour time span. Games must be created according to a specified assigned theme, which will be announced when the Global Game Jam launches on Jan 29, and is made publicly available after the last location begins the game (in the latest time zone).
About 40 people are expected to participate in Niagara College’s event, which is being organized by Tom Brown, who was in the first graduating class of the College’s Game Development program in 2014 and now works as the technical lead at SHG Studios in Hamilton. Brown wanted to organize the event to help the students as well as boost the game development scene in the Niagara region.
“It’s always good to have a few games under your belt to show to any potential employer that game development is a passion, not just a job. Game jams are also a great way to improve skills in a very brief period of time and the people who will benefit from that most are the students,” he said. “The College also has fantastic facilities to host the game jam, with the Game Development computer labs giving any participate the means to create any type of game they wish.”
Coordinator/professor of the Game Development program coordinator Rick Goertz said the event is a good opportunity for students and graduates to put their skills to the test.
“From an educational perspective, there is nothing like unleashing the creative powers of inspired game designers, artists and programmers working collaboratively towards a common goal,” said Goertz. “Participants require discipline, determination and resourcefulness as they conceive, design and develop an entirely original game in 48 hours alongside thousands of other game enthusiasts across the globe.”
Niagara College’s Global Game Jam event will kick off on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Welland Campus.
For more info about the Global Game Jam visit globalgamejam.org
