The Game Jam Plan

If you intend to join in the Game Jam then it is very important that you start work NOW on your preparation.

Remember, we are using this opportunity to widen student knowledge by using the Unreal Development Kit, however this is outside of the course and examination syllabus. Students will NOT need to know the Unreal Development Kit in order to complete their course and pass examinations, but if you are hoping to take part in the Game Jam you should begin your extra curricula studies NOW.

Launch + 6 Weeks

In addition to our usual instalment of UDK tutorials we are also pleased to present a guest article from DSVella, an experienced software producer who attended our last Game Jam, containing his tips and advice for anyone attending our upcoming event!

What is a Game Jam?

I think first it would be a good idea to lay down a definition of 'Game Jam'.

A Game Jam is an event held over a period of time in which groups of people (pre arranged or otherwise) come together to produce a game from start to finish, literally. In a short space of time (usually about 2 days) the projects that are worked on by various people will encompass the entire lifespan of your average title; designing, planning, building, testing and release.

So that is what you're going to be aiming to do in the next 48 hours. Let me also make this clear; when I said 'the next 48 hours' I meant that! Teams work day and night to be able to achieve their goals. Expect little sleep and some crankiness.

How can I prepare?

Beforehand

1.Get some practice in

Be you a coder, designer, artist or producer you need to make sure your skills are sharp. The Train 2 Game learning course let your learn at your own pace. This might mean that you haven't done some serious coding in a while. Change that. Make sure you're not too rusty (and in the case of the artists, remember what all those buttons do!).

2.Pack your bags.

Apart from obvious things like toothbrush, antiperspirant, a change of clothes and such make sure your have what your need to be able to do your role. Also don't be afraid to bring something like a text book. Coders epically have to remember very technical thing that are very easy to forget. No shame in a crib sheet.

3.Open your mind.

Try not to have any preconceptions going in or specific ideas. Half the fun of this is going in and interacting with people and coming up with new ideas. This allows for a very organic process as well as a allowing you (and by extension, your team) to be flexible.

4.Bring a camera!

You have no idea how much I regretted not having a camera with me.

Before I start talking about how things go down when you actually get started I just wish to make clear that this is only my experience. I knew that other groups had other methods but I am just going to put out the method that worked for my team.

Jamming!

1.Designing the game

We sat down and over the period of about 2 hours came up with about 6 different game design ideas. Then we all gave our input over what was needed to be able to achieve that plan. There is a lot of back and forth that resulted in us choosing a single idea.
2.Planning;

You need a plan. I would hate to think what would have happened if we were just to wing it. This is a dynamic process that varies on the group in question. We came up with all the things that had to be done and gave an idea how long it would take to be able complete each task. Then we allocated tasks to people and got on. One thing I would suggest your make yourself familiar with is the S.M.A.R.T goal setting idea. You can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria

3.Building

From here on out your going to head down and doing your jobs. Make sure to use the other members of your team to be able to help you make decisions or look over you work. Have a group meeting every so often so that everyone knows what everyone else is doing.

4.Testing

A word of warning; leave good time for this! When a bunch of people doing very different things put all their work together there are going to be times when things will not play nice, or don't play as intended. You need to test the game to make sure it's in good order.

5.Release

Hand in time. THIS IS STRICT AND WILL CREEP UP ON YOU! We came within a few short minutes of not finishing. So make sure you finish comfortably.

I hope this article will be of some use to those of you attending. As for myself, I don't know if I am attending yet (work commitments) but I hope that for those of you that do attend you have a great time!