Manchester Game Jam, Feb 2013 - in photos!

Another month, another quick-fire game jam in Manchester!

This time we were jamming around the theme of TRAPS, and as usual everyone really pulled it out of the bag and made some amazing games.

We made, among other things: banana controllers, trapped treasure chests, magnet tanks, play-doh buttons, puns, monks, text adventures with Bruce Willis, Makey Makey hacks, laser typing challenges, and a game that got Chris running around Madlab (again).

This was my last chance to jam for a while due to the imminent baby arrival, so a giant personal thanks to everyone for making it a good 'un! (The jam will carry on running without me, in the capable hands of some of our regulars, including hopefully the full Ludum Dare weekend in April. Keep an eye on Twitter for updates!)

Full photo set after the cut!

Announcing... the Manchester Game Jam in February!

The Manchester Game Jam is baaaack!

We'll be jamming once again at Madlab in Manchester for another one-day mini jam. It'll be the same format as before: one theme for everyone, anything goes. Last time round we made loads of party games, and at the jam before that we made games full of lasers. Lasers! We'll be announcing the theme a few days before the event, so everyone has some planning time, and both solo and group entries are both A-OK.

We're open as always to all manner of coders, designers, audio folk or just the plain game-curious. If you're interested in joining a group you can either let us know in advance, or we'll figure some groups out on the day. Not into videogames? That's fine too: in the past we've had teams create boardgames, pervasive games, games with cameras and games over live weblink to Berlin, so show us what you've got!

Here's how the last few jams went down, with lots of pictures and stuff:
http://blog.danhett.com/2012/11/manchester-game-jam-3.html
http://blog.danhett.com/2012/08/game-jam-2-madlab-august-2012.html
http://blog.danhett.com/2012/04/manchester-game-jam-in-photos.html

Anyway, here's a lovely poster for you to print out and stick directly to your face, or failing that you can click here for some more info and here to buy a ticket.

Oh, and feel free to give us a shout on twitter or drop us an email if you'd like to know more.

Gaaaaaaaames!

Manchester Game Jam #3

So, the third of my back-to-back jam onslaught (here's the first and second) was the Manchester Game Jam. We're almost there, stick with me.

Once again Madlab were our gracious (and f-f-f-freezing!) hosts, and we dropped lucky that day and had the place to ourselves. This was the first of our monthly one-day jams, to run alongside the big Ludum Dare jams. The feedback we had was that people couldn't always commit to a full weekend, and also that once every four months just wasn't enough game jammery. So, a monthly jam seemed like a good call. Thankfully, our jammers agreed!



Full photo run-down after the cut.

Announcing... the Manchester Game Jam #3!

The Manchester Game Jam is pleased to announce our November jam, which will be the first of our new shorter monthly events. We'll be back at the ever-awesome Madlab in Manchester's northern quarter.

This jam is a bit different to the weekend ones we've done previously: there'll be a single massive theme for the day that we'll announce a few days beforehand (so you guys have a bit of thinking time). As always you can use any language/technology, groups or solo efforts are both A-OK, and if you're making a none-digital game then that's fine too (in fact, we encourage it). We do have one rule though: at the end of the jam day you have to present what you've made, successful or not!

Disclaimer: as this is a very intense short jam, we (politely) suggest that beginners avoid this event and come join us for the weekend jam in December instead, where there's more time for newbies to learn the ropes a bit. As soon as the Ludum Dare guys decide on a date we'll put the word out.

So yes, jam #3 is go! Tickets will be on sale shortly, they'll be about a fiver to cover venue costs. We're not covering food to keep costs down, but there's lots of nice eateries/drinkeries in the northern quarter.

Drop us an email and we'll let you know when tickets are up, or follow us on twitter for the latest. Hope to see you there! :)

MCR Game Jam at the Maker Faire: call for entries

The Manchester Game Jam is happy to confirm that we'll be at the Manchester Mini Maker Faire in July! We're mega excited about it, and have big plans, and now we need YOU to get on board and help us out. Here's how it's going to go down, in handy FAQ format:

So, what's the plan?
The Manchester Game Jam will be doing a live two day jam event, at the Manchester Mini Maker Faire on the 28th and 29th July, at MOSI. We're going to create a gigantic step-on controller that we'll be making games for, so visitors can get involved and play our games on a big projection screen for the duration of the show. It'll be similar to the recent Experimental Gameplay contest, but a bit more flexible and a lot more home-made!

Who are you looking for?
Developers, designers, game nerds, and anyone else who wants to get stuck in and help us make awesome games for our giant controller. As well as making loads of games over the Maker Faire weekend, we also want to have some ready in advance too: so if you can't make the weekend you can still get your games played by everyone at the event.

How does it actually work?
We're working alongside the clever chaps at HAC:Manchester, who are making six big step-on buttons. The buttons will be wirelessley attached to a PC, that's hooked up to a large projection screen. The buttons will be mapped to the 1-6 keys on a keyboard, and will register "up" and "down" states, same as pressing keys on a keyboard. Because they're wireless, you can use any button layout you like. Your game can use any number of the buttons, and can be for single players or lots of players: go nuts! The buttons will also be colour-coded, so if you want some sort of visual reference in-game you have something to work with:

Are there any other specifics we need to know?

• There should ideally be a screen at the start of your game that shows how you'd like the buttons to be laid out, along with some instruction on how to play
• Your games should be entirely controllable using the six buttons (including the game menus, if there are any)
• You games should work at 1024x768, full-screen
• Your game should run on a reasonably modest PC, and if there are any requirements or runtimes (XNA, AIR etc) that you require, let us know
• Sound is OK, but the event might be loud, so don't rely 100% on it
• It's a family event, so keep it clean!

Are there any themes/rules?

Nope. If it plays on our giant controller, we'll take it. We'll be rotating through all the games on a regular basis over the weekend, so everything that gets submitted will get played by the Maker Faire visitors.

I'm coming to the live jam: what do I need to bring?

People entering the jam will need their own laptop: we'll have power, tables/chairs, and WIFI. 

I can't make the jam, but I'd like to make a game: is that OK?

Definitely! This is still a great opportunity to get your game played by loads of people on a large scale. We're really keen on getting together some games created in advance, so there's always something fun happening on our controller right from the outset. Send us everything and anything you come up with. 

Who owns the games we make?

You do. We're just providing the giant buttons! Please feel free to stick your name/email/twitter on whatever you make.

If this sounds like fun and you'd like attend (or, if you'd like to make something in advance), get in touch! Attendees can still turn up on the day of course, but it would be best if we had a handle on numbers.

For more info, or to submit your games, here's how you can get hold of us:

Email us - MCRgamejam [at] gmail [dot] com

Tweet us - @MCRgamejam

or call Dan on 07849 959 348

We can't wait to see what you come up with. Thanks!