Students from the University of Lincoln’s School of Computer Science will be taking part in the world’s largest game jam event.
The Global Game Jam (GGJ), which is dubbed a hackathon focused on game development, will see thousands of participants making games simultaneously across hundreds of locations all over the world.
The University’s computer labs will be home to up to 100 gamers for 48 hours from Friday, 24th January to Sunday, 26th January.
To kickstart the event jammers are shown a short video with advice from leading game developers, and a secret theme is announced.
All sites worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that same theme, with games to be completed by Sunday afternoon.
Dr Ben Kirman, senior lecturer in the School of Computer Science and member of Lincoln Games Research Group, said: “It’s all about stimulating collaboration and giving students the opportunity to see the sort of games development going on in other countries. Participants can also choose to donate any spare time they may have to help other groups with their projects.”
The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression.
The GGJ encourages people from all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.
In January 2013, the GGJ had 309 locations in 63 countries create over 3,000 games in one weekend.
Students from other universities (with ID) and University of Lincoln alumni are also welcome to take part in the event.
Advance registration is required. For more information and to sign up go to http://games.lincoln.ac.uk/2014/01/global-game-jam-2014/