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Hello GGJ Community


Site applications for Global Game Jam 2023 have been open for a little over two weeks now and the numbers are showing us that people are excited to jam again in 2023 and very excited to jam together in-person, as we all are. Apply to host a site now so you beat the rush in late December and early January.

Jammer registration will open on 5 December 2022 so keep an eye on our website and social media channels for the big announcement so you can sign up for a jam site in your area.


The winners have been announced for the inaugural Multiplayer Game Jam presented by GGJ + Photon, read on to find out which of the 74 entries for this year's jam took home the awards.

Site applications are now open for GGJ 2023!

Site applications are now open for Global Game Jam and Global Game Jam Next 2023!

Click the Start a 2023 Jam Site button on our website to begin the process. Both GGJ and GGJ Next site applications will be handled through our main website for 2023.

Once again in 2023 we will be allowing for in-person, virtual, and hybrid sites depending on what works best for your community in terms of accessibility, as well as health & safety regulations and precautions.

New for GGJ 2023 is the allowance for people 16 years of age and up to participate in Global Game Jam. Previously the minimum age was limited to the local age of majority and up, which is typically 18+. But with more and more schools offering young people the opportunity to learn game development tools and the abundance of online resources and tutorials being available we thought it made sense to lower the participation age to 16+. 

To accommodate those in our community who celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, GGJ is moving the main event to a week later than usual and will take place from 30 January - 5 February 2023.

We expect most sites to jam during the weekend of 3-5 February, but sites can operate any time during the week that works for them.

read the rest of the announcement

GGJ supports Woman, Life, Freedom: The Game Jam

"Woman, Life, Freedom" This is what people in Iran are now chanting in streets during their protests against massive violations of women’s rights, corruption in all branches of government and autocratic laws and regulations. Woman, Life, Freedom: The Game Jam! is a solidarity event for women protesting their rights. To register and find out more go to their itch.io page and website.

Winners announced for the inaugural GGJ+Photon Multiplayer Game Jam!

The inaugural Multiplayer Game Jam presented by Global Game Jam and Photon saw over 800 people from over 75 countries come together to make 76 multiplayer games around the theme of Reconnect.

The idea behind this jam was to show that making multiplayer games is easier than it ever has been. Using Photon technology that works with Unity and Unreal game developers of varying skill levels and experience made games from multiple genres, with wildly varying art styles and gameplay mechanics. Everything from VR zombie shooters, to RTS meets battle royale, co-op puzzle solving, arena battles, sports titles, and so much more. We had a lot of fun playing and judging the entries, which made it a tough task to narrow it down and pick the winners.

The awards were presented live on stream on 20 November, and you can rewatch the whole stream where we interviewed some of the winning developers about their games and the experience.

Aussie Ball Quantum by Fear Indigo of Australia bounced its way to the Best Networked Physics award.
 
PlanetScape by PlanetStudio of Brazil collected the Best RTS Game award.
 
They Stole My Body by elZach from Germany took us on an adventure and came home with the Best Large World award.
 
Motor-Dome by Nthusia from Scotland and the USA revved us up and took home the Best Fast Paced Game award.
 
Afterlight by JimDublace of the United States brought us into the light and won the Best Peaceful Game award.
 
DEPOT by Victory Toad from the United States had us battling bunches of blocky bad guys and won the Best Use of Bots award.
 
BuddyBall by hmmmmniek from the Netherlands had us bouncing off the walls trying to be the best at scoring goals and won the Best Competitive Gameplay award.
 
Reconnect by Nicolás from Chile taught us some lessons about working together and the power of friends and won the Best Collaboration Gameplay award.
 
The Overall winners were as follows:
3rd Place was a tie between Reconnect & DEPOT.
2nd Place Overall went to Best RTS Game winner PlanetScape
The overall winner was the fun and fast paced Motor-Dome!

Congratulations to our winners and to everyone who participated and tried to make a game for this jam! We had a fabulous time hosting the jam, playing the games on stream, and judging the entries.
Photon announced that they will be on board to support Global Game Jam 2023, which starts on 30 January, 2023 and
The Multiplayer Game Jam will return in 2023 so brush up on those Photon tutorials and start thinking of ideas now.

Read the full story

Global Game Jam Presents: The Community Spotlight: Tim Buhrs

 

Tim Buhrs: "I have learned an incredible amount from the couple of games that I have created during Jams, more than any tutorial series, course or any form of education I did. During a Jam you absorb so much practical information through tutorials and documentation which you then apply directly for practical purposes!"

 

Tim participated May Day Mental Health Game Jam 2022. This is his story and greetings to the Global Game Jam Community.

"Hey hey! My name is Tim Buhrs and I'm a 22 year old Game Developer from the Netherlands! I enjoy doing things like thrift shopping, collecting vintage artbooks, watching old rock musicals and drawing but my main passion is creating games!

While I've been an artist for most of my life, I started to learn how to code and develop games about 2 years ago. Since then I've participated in multiple game jams and created a couple smaller games

And now I’m working together with my roommate and friend Jordy de Waal on a larger scale wholesome life-sim game called “GardenBuddies” which is set to release on Steam and Switch next year! I’m trying to create art that brings a smile to people’s faces, whether that's by writing a comforting bit of dialogue, designing adorable little characters or trying to make a fun and relaxing gameplay loop! My main goal is always to make the player as joyful as possible! <3 

Mental Health Game Jam was a total blast

We participated during the May Day Mental Health Game Jam during May of this year and we had a total blast! The discord server was incredibly kind and motivating, the organizers responded to all the questions we asked and the community as a whole was just incredibly supportive to us! And although making a game can definitely be a stressful task to undertake, we felt like it was definitely worth it due to the incredible amount of positive reactions we received during development as well as after release!

During this jam we even became a finalist which was a huge accomplishment for us! especially compared to all the other incredible games that came out of that Jam.
So overall it was a lovely experience to partake in and I will without a doubt join another GGJ in the future!

You can find Tim and GardenBuddies at:
Itch.io: Jam version of Gardenbuddies / Tim Buhrs
Twitter: @TimBuhrs
Linktree: TimBuhrs

Read the full spotlight on Tim

Did you know: Take This is hosting a number of FREE workshops for game developers and members of the gaming community?

Check them out here and sign up.
 

Online Harassment: Communities and Creators

This workshop is designed to be an “Online Harassment 101” course. In this workshop, we will overview the scope of harassment in mobile gaming communities with a focus on the harassment of mobile game creators through social media. This is designed to be a one-hour workshop that will end with a solutions-focused discussion about how to integrate effective policy and support structures.
 

Optimizing Game Design: Diversity Representation and Psychological Impact

Digital games are often discussed as tools for learning and change, but how can industry professionals optimize the conditions for change? Drawing on work from psychology, sociology, and media studies, this workshop is specifically designed for mobile game makers to gain a better understanding of how representation and diversity are critical for optimizing their mobile games for impact and engagement.

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