Morrisville State College to Host Global Game Jam, Invites Participants For Jan. 28-30 Event

Morrisville State College students will be among thousands of participants from all over the world taking part in the 2011 International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Global Game Jam (GGJ) Jan. 28-30.



And for the second year, the college is hosting teams on its campus, inviting amateurs, professionals, students, faculty, hobbyists and anyone with a passion for making games to participate. This year, there are more than 150 GGJ host locations across the globe. Morrisville is one of only five host sites in New York state.



Registration is now being accepted for anyone interested in participating at the Morrisville State College GGJ site. Participants must be 18 years and older.



GGJ challenges aspiring game designers to brainstorm, design and build a game in a 48-hour time frame. For the first time, the event is accepting non-digital game submission, which can include board games, card games and physical games.



Participants with varying levels of skill and experience will be given a theme and then break into teams and spend the weekend designing a new game from scratch without any outside help. Teams will be formed on-site.



Participants meet at the college on Friday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. Each team will have until 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30 to create its game. Local jurors will play all the games and at 5 p.m., each team will present its game to all participants. Each local site will announce what team best embodies the spirit of the jam.



Game Jam 2010 produced more than 900 games from more than 4,000 participants in more than 30 countries. Results are judged by industry professionals.



All finished games from the Global Game Jam will be archived onto a Game Jam Website for everyone to play.



Game Jam at Morrisville State College was made possible through an Enitiative Grant received by Dr. Richard Marcoux, assistant professor in Morrisville State College's Computer Information Technologies Department, who is also organizing the event at the college.



For more information or to register to participate at the Morrisville State College game jam site, go to www.morrisville.edu/gamejam, call Marcoux at 684-6788 or e-mail him at marcourp@morrisville.edu.



Enitiative, funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, focuses on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and neighborhoods, with the goal of creating a culture of entrepreneurship to improve the economic climate in Central New York. The program is being brought to life by a coalition of partner schools including Morrisville State College.