Global Game Jam (GGJ) is huge and can be pretty daunting. Last year alone there were 5438 games created in 48 hours. 28,000 participants, worked either in teams or went at it solo, they had to come up with a game idea based around the global theme given to everyone. Then with 48 hours, develop it and with seconds to spare, submit it.
This year, here in beautiful Vancouver, the organizers of the Vancouver Global Game Jam site put on a free Pre-GGJ workshop hosted by Vancouver Film School. About 45 people showed up and packed a theatre room located in the VFS Animation Campus. The goal of this workshop, make it feel less daunting and also help the newcomers get the most out of the Global Game Jam. There were a few technical issues in the beginning but Shiko Ali was there to save the day. It all started off with an intro to the VFS Game Design program from Ivo Van der Marel, the Unity Instructor, followed by a great demonstration on how to use Unity 5.3.1 by another Unity guru Jodan Karlik. To wrap things up, Jodan shared some wisdom on what to do and what to avoid while participating at the Global Game Jam.
With the GGJ organizers getting the word out and VFS providing a venue and catering, a slew of volunteers ensured all aspects ran smoothly making the Pre-GGJ workshop a big success. A special thank you to Kellan Higgins from 8bit goose pimple for helping out. Good luck to everyone participating in this year’s GGJ and if for some reason you miss out; join us next year at the next Pre-GGJ event.
VFS will be at the Global Game Jam this weekend so be sure to come check us out!