Nordic Game Jam '09

The team behind the Nordic Game Jam proudly announces the Nordic Game Jam 2009.

This year the Nordic Game Jam will feature 2 different tracks:

1. Track where the participants are already a member of a group, and where they bring the game from home. This track is strongly inspired the demo scene.

2. Track like the previous year, where the groups are made at the jam. This track will be part of the Global Game Jam, and the theme and constraints now revealed until the event.

All games must be finished at the game jam. One person can only participate in one track.

Event Program

CLICK HERE to find out more about the judges of NGJ' 09.

Friday the 30th January:

14:00 - Art Track Session 1 (Nils Deneken: "Independent Games" )

Tech Track Session 1 (David Kofoed Wind and Tim Garbos: "Rapid Prototyping Using Blender and Python")

15:00 - Art Track Session 2 ( Nevin Eronde - "Game Audio - Immersion & Interaction")

Tech Track Session 2 ( David Helgason (CEO and co-founder of Unity Technologies) - "Unity and IPhone Development")

15:30 - Art Track Session 2 ( Mads Bendsen: "Surround sound and frags", Does surround really make me a better FPS gamer?)

16:00 - Art Track Session 3 (Søren Lundgaard (Deadline Games): "Concept to Product - and a bit about Changes")

Tech Track Session 3 (George Bain: "Developing Games for PlayStation®Network")

17:30 - Keynote (Heather Kelley)

18:30 - Opening followed by Social Exercises, Pitches and Group Forming

Saturday the 31st January:

09:00 - Breakfast

10:00 - Review meetings

13:00 - Lunch

19:00 - Dinner

Sunday the 1st February:

09:00 - Breakfast

10:00 - Review meetings

13:00 - Lunch - Deadline for Bring from Home track

15:00 - Deadline for GGJ Track

16:30 - Presentations followed by awards

Track 1 – Bring From Home

In this track, it is ok to bring a game that is 99% finished from home. There is a requirement though that the game has to be finished at the game jam. The participants who want to participate in this track are free to start working on their game from this moment on (or even adapt earlier work).

The overall theme is: Humor

The affordances and constraints of this track are:

1. Visuals: The general theme of the visuals are disproportionate / assymetric.

2. Sound: The game should have recognizable theme song.

3. Code: Not all, but at least some of the games content must be procedurally generated.

4. Game Play: The game must take place in one location.

Competitions

This track will feature a number of different competions. In all the competitions except one will the winner be decided by the audience.

We will do our best to get really good prices for all the different awards.

The competitions are:

- Best Visual Style

- Best Sound Design

- Most Innovative Controls

- Best Overall Game – Audience Award

- Best Overall Game – Panel Award

- Offtrack

Track 2 – Global Game Jam

This track is most like the Nordic Game Jam in the earlier years. The participants need not have a group before arriving, and there will be a brainstorm and group creation session.

The Nordic Game Jam is the flagship & rolemodel for the Global Game Jam network. The Global Game is a network of game jams around the world, based on the experience and model from Nordic Game Jam. In the same weekend as the Nordic Game Jam is taking place, gamedevelopers around the world will gather at game jams in the same way as Nordic Game Jam and developer games on their own. The Global Game Jam network was initiated by IGDAs Education Special Interest Group and so far 26 different educational institutions have signed up, - 15 in the USA, 3 in Australia, 2 in Cananda and in France, Holland, Brasil, England & South Africa.

The theme and constraints for this track will not be announced until the game jam starts.

Competitions

- Best Overall Game – Audience Award

- Best Overall Game – Panel Award

The winners of these competitions, will along with the winners of all the different game jams across the globe be invited to participate in the Workshop of the Education SIG at GDC 2009, San Francisco. A selection of the global winners will be showcased at the workshop. Participation in the workshop gives a free pass to the GDC proper. Only access to the workshop and the GDC is the price here. Transportation and living expenses are not included. If sponsorship allows it, we will try to provide help with the transportation expenses for one or two members of each group.

Things that are as they always were:

- The date is late january/early february; january 30th to february 1st.

- Dead cheap entrance fee; 250 kroners for the early bird.

- Delicious Food.

- Fantastic Mood.

- Great Games being made.

- Signup opens November 15th.

A more detailed program will be made available as we get closer to the event. Hope to see you all there, for a fantastic event!

Hope to see you all there, for a fantastic event!