Yes, a game jam!
No Show Conference will be running a game jam on site throughout the conference weekend. Bring an in-progress project or a brand new idea; show up with a group or form a team when you get there (or work on your own, if that’s your style). At the end of the conference, Game Jam attendees will present brief post-mortems of what they worked on and accomplished over the weekend to the conference at large. The No Show Game Jam is for students, hobbiests, indies, studio devs, and anyone who wants to make a game or tool and then show it off a little.
We will provide power, tables, quiet rooms, breakfasts & lunches, and some on-site guidance/structure to forming teams and self-organizing. You bring your own computers, software, papers, pens, game pieces, etc.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a game jam, here’s more detail from Boston Game Jams:
What’s a game jam?
A game jam is a short and fixed time period event where participants create games, usually in teams, from start to finish. While some game jams are structured competitively and do not require teams, at Boston Game Jams we encourage people to work in teams and to be fully cooperative and open with fellow jammers.
Game jams play off of the spirit of musician “jams”, where each artist comes with their own tools (instruments, usually, or perhaps just their voice) and creates music improvisationally with the other artists. Game jams are similar in that each team member comes with their own unique talents and perspectives and combines those with that of their team members to create something amazing and unique — their own game. Like a band jam, a game jam is all about coming together and having a fun, improvisational team experience, not necessarily about the finished product!
What kinds of games do you make?
There are no restrictions on the types of games you can make, and even products that would better be described as “interactive art” than “games” are perfectly good fodder for a game jam. There is also no requirement that you make a computer game — paper prototypes, board games, and card games are all excellent game jam projects.
Why jam?
There are many benefits to jamming and everyone has their own unique take-aways. Here are some of the most common reasons people participate in game jams:
- experience the joy of creation
- meet new people
- learn more about game design and development
- learn new tools
- learn how to work on a tight schedule
- learn how to be flexible in our thinking and adapt to change quickly
