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Video game creators plan a weekend jam
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Lock yourself in a museum for a weekend with a few dozen people to work on a project under tight deadlines?
They’re game!
Youngstown Game Developers (YGD) will present the city’s first game jam this weekend at the McDonouugh Museum of Art.
In a game jam, groups are formed to create a video game in a limited time frame that is based on a particular theme.
The Youngstown Game Jam will start at 6 p.m. Friday with a check-in for the 40 registered attendees.
A keynote speech delivered via Skype by Mike Geig of Unity Software Development will begin at 7 p.m., followed by the announcement of the game theme.
Then the attendees will break into groups and begin creating their games. They will be locked in the building for two nights; food will be delivered to them.
The teams will present their finished games at 3 p.m. Sunday at the McDonough, which is on the Youngstown State University campus, across Wick Avenue from the Butler Institute of American Art.
The public is welcome to check out the results and also will be able to sample the games at youngstowngamedevelopers.com. Some of the games might require a controller.
Kendra Corpier of YGD is an organizer of the game jam, along with Bill Jones and Andrew Pavlick of the group.
She stressed that there is no winner selected because that’s not the goal of the event. About half of the game jam attendees are students, she said, and the number of teams, and their makeup, will be determined after the keynote speech.
Corpier is a senior graphic designer for a print shop, but also maintains a studio for game development. She is releasing her latest game, titled “Epicurse Inversim,” on May 26 for Android devices.
The Youngstown Game Developers is an independent game development resourcing group that focuses on helping people become successful game developers.
It gives local students, professionals and hobby enthusiasts an opportunity to learn about and possibly become a part of the video game development industry.