Those who like programming, designing, gaming and just staying awake for obscene stretches of time would be well-served to check out a multi-day event at NHTI starting this Friday.
This weekend, dedicated programmers and gaming enthusiasts alike will gather at NHTI to take part in the annual Fall Game Jam, a marathon computer game development event.
A Game Jam brings together teams of individuals to collaborate and create original computer games from scratch.
The event will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday with the announcement of the theme for the jam. After organizing into teams, participants will throw themselves headlong into their work for the next two days, with minimal time out for food and sleep – it’s not at all uncommon for programmers to be working past 3 a.m., and many do without sleep altogether (note that there will be no official sleeping accommodations at NHTI during the Game Jam, so if you do need to rest, make sure you’re prepared to go somewhere else to do so). At 5 p.m. on Sunday, the games must be ready for prime time.
Ultimately, though, this is not a competition. The idea is to encourage collaboration and bounce ideas off one another, and, of course, to have a good time making a unique computer game.
The Fall Game Jam has become an annual tradition sponsored by NHTI’s department of Animation and Graphic Game Programming, which has held more than 20 Game Jams on campus since 2008. Students in the AGGP program learn the necessary skills to enter the gaming industry, taught by professor Greg Walek, who worked for video game giants Activision and Ravensoft.
Admission is free and not limited to NHTI students. However, participants must be at least 18 years old and must register for the event with Walek by sending an email to gwalek@ccsnh.edu. The public is welcome to drop by Little Hall at 5 p.m. Sunday for the showing of the finished games.
For more information, go to nhti.edu.
Insider staff
