Game developers in Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia are set to join developers across the world for the Global Game Jam this weekend, January 23 to 25.
The Global Game Jam invites developers around the world to participate in simultaneously held events, with 516 jam sites registered in 78 countries for this year’s event.
Participants arrive at their local jam site, form teams, and are given the secret theme for the hackathon-style two-day event; with games to be completed 48 hours later.
“Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today’s heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games – it is very universal,” the organisers said.
“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 organisers stress that the event is not a competition, but is an initiative aimed at stimulating collaboration, with developers from all backgrounds encouraged to participate.
“The jam is known for helping foster new friendships, increase confidence and opportunities within the community. The jam is always an intellectual challenge. People are invited to explore new technology tools, trying on new roles in development and testing their skills to do something that requires them to design, develop create, test and make a new game in the time span of 48 hours.”
Members of the public can create their own jam site if there is no planned site in their local vicinity.
The Egyptian branch of the event – to be held at the country’s Information Technology Institute (ITI) – is currently expected to see the largest turnout of all the global events, with 1,384 registered participants.
Those interested in attending can find the list of jam sites online.
