Global Game Jam 2020

Global Game Jam 2020: Kuwait
30th January – 1st February 2020 at CODED

What is Global Game Jam?

It’s an annual hackathon-ish global event that we host the Kuwaiti site of, where participants make games over the weekend following a specific theme. It is NOT about coming with a video game idea wanting to find skilled people to fulfil. And it is NOT a competition. There are no winners or losers, firsts or lasts. Only people collaborating and making games and having fun 😀

Who is it for?

Anyone who’s interesting in making games; Game designers, programmers, artists, 3D modeller, musicians, story writers, Superman, Batman, the shy guy in that corner! Everyone! As long as you’re interested in making games with a team of strangers! And since you’re reading this, most likely you too! This isn’t exclusive to video games only; board and card games are welcome too!

What’s the schedule like?

Thursday (17:30 to 00:00)

  • 17:30 to 18:30 – Check-in
  • 18:30 – Introductionary speech, words from CODED, rules, and theme reveal
  • 19:00 – Brainstorming break
  • 20:00 – Ideas pitching, teams formation, and teams and members registration online

Friday (14:00 to 00:00)

  • 14:00 – Doors open
  • 20:00 – Deadline for teams registration and members assignment

Saturday (9:00 to 21:00)

  • 9:00 – Doors open
  • 19:00 – Deadline for games submission
  • 19:30 – Games presentations and demos

Where’s the event happening?

This wouldn’t have happened without CODED’s collaboration to host this event:

What skills do I need to participate?

This event is not meant for professionals. But if you are, it’ll be a wonderful addition, but it’s not necessary.

There are many roles you can play in game development; a programmer, artist, modeller, game designer, musician, sound engineer, storyteller, that shy guy again, they’re just a lot! If you don’t know where you’d fit, don’t worry, you can try to fill in a role you never tried before. Who knows, it might work for you (Speaking from previous events, it happened twice!)

That being said, it’ll help a lot having skills to utilize. You don’t have to be super good at them, just good enough is good enough.

You don’t have to be a super-duper programmer, knowing C# and Java, for example, will be enough to know how to use Unity (Don’t worry, we’ll give you a hand!)

You don’t have to be a super-duper artist. Believe me, you can do wonders with stick figures! Knowing how to trim pictures and resizing them in GIMP or Paint is so useful too!

You don’t have to be Beethoven or Van Halen (Man I feel old now). If you know how to do basic 8bit music or just trim and adjust sound effects, you’re good to go as that audio guy!

You don’t have to be Shakespeare to write a good story. Having a good idea and basic writing should be enough for a good and fun game made in a weekend!

See the pattern there? You don’t have to be super-duper skilled and good at your skills. You might even discover a new hobby\skill you didn’t know you had before!

Am I limited to a set of software?

Not at all! You can use whatever software or tool you’re familiar with. However, please make sure that you have the appropriate rights to use these tools.

Here’s a list of software you could start with:

Can I use projects made before?

No, you can’t. One of this event’s purposes of this event is to make new video games following a specific theme. You can, however, you snippets and scripts that covers functions, not pre-made projects to be adjusted.

Do I have to bring my team?

Not at all! In fact, you’re encouraged not to arrive as a team to join a team of strangers. This event is to collaborate and build networks with people who want to make video games! So, no, you don’t have to form a team before joining.

Are there any special rules?

Of course, there are! Here’s a list of rules in total:

  • Participants must be 18+ years old or accompanied by their legal guardian.
  • Participants must be in Kuwait.
  • Participants must be physically in the venue.
  • Participants must not use premade projects.
  • Participants may use premade scripts, snippets, and assets. However, participants must check with copyrights compatibilities.
  • Participants have all the rights for their projects. However, Global Game Jam organizers have the right to market and advertise submitted projects.
  • Teams must be formed on the first day of the event after ideas pitching.
  • Team members can change teams until the second day, 19:00 (7:00 pm).
  • Participants who can’t find a team will either team together, forced to enter other teams or have their registration revoked.
  • All games must follow Global Game Jam’s theme.
  • The theme will only be revealed as scheduled.
  • Organizers have the right to dey participants from participating in order to protect the event’s success.
  • Organizers have the right to reject games and projects ideas to protect the event’s success.
  • Organizers have the right to ban participants if they believe their participation is threatening the event’s success.

I have so many questions to ask, what do I do?

You can easily contact me by sending me an email: webmaster at q8geeks dot org.
Or, you can reach me on Facebook/Instagram/SnapChat/Twitter at @Q8GEEK

How can I register?