Game Jam 2013: Day 2

Well, ok! After scrapping Friday's false start, things, finally, coalesced today as we started throwing up mechanism ideas based on a theme idea we had passed up on last night.

Oh, so, speaking of theme. The whole shtick with the jam is that you only find out the theme you'll have to incorporate at the start of the jam after the keynote video. I couldn't share it with all of you until today because of the six hour time difference between us and the farthest jam site in Hawaii (this is the GLOBAL Game Jam, after all). So, the cryptic as hell theme this year? An audio clip of a beating heart! Ya, I know. Thankfully, teams are free to interpret this any way they like. Much of a team's creativity shines through in its interpretation of the theme.

So, blah blah blah, what the heck did we come up with?

Well, we decided to create a game that riffs on the theme by being about matters of the heart while, also, getting your heart rate up. It's called Heart Rate Speed Date, and it's all about playing cards down as fast as you can in a race to match speed dating aficionados with their best possible matches! Check out the pics!

Kicking Off Game Jam 2013

Getting ready to get my jam on for the 2013 Global Game Jam. Extra cool this year as we won't be the only board game! I was able to rope in two friends to also participate this year. I'm super psyched! Oh! The keynote is about to start. I'll keep posting progress throughout the weekend.

Upcoming Events

It's the start of a new year, and with a new year comes all sorts of cool events to check out. So, if you are looking to touch base with me or just want to participate in some awesome game related events, here's a list of the fun times I will be having in early 2013. I hope to see you there.

January 25 to 27: Global Game Jam
If you have a penchant for game design, I highly recommend signing up for this! Teams are tasked with designing a video or board game over the course of a weekend based on a theme that is only revealed at the start of the event. This will be my third year participating and I am so psyched! Events are held all over the world, so check the website for one near you. If you are in the Ottawa area, the jam goes down at Carleton University.
Links:
Global Game Jam Website
Ottawa Game Jam Website

February 2 to 3: Game Summit
For the board gamers amongst you, and I know there are plenty, you should swing by and see me at this year's Game Summit. I loved my time there last year and am really looking forward to doing it again this year. I should be available to demo Roll'n Bump to anyone who hasn't had a chance to play it yet, or for any masters looking to challenge me to a game.
Links:
Game Summit

Some Time in May: Ottawa Game Conference
This event would have been called Game Summit, if the aforementioned board game convention hadn't beaten them to it. For those of you interested in Ottawa's budding video game industry, this show is for you. This will be the conference's second year, and I'm told it will be a massive three day event, up from last year's single day. There will be workshops, talks and demos. If you are in the industry yourself, don't miss it!  The dates for this year haven't been announced yet, so stay tuned to the website for info.
Links:
Ottawa Game Conference