The Global Game Jam brings together game makers, musicians, artists, programmers, beginners, and veterans to make a game based on a world-wide theme in forty-eight hours. Join 280,000 other game makers from 93 countries around the world to make a game January 20-22!
The NYU Jam site is perennially one of the best attended sites in America, and one of the top ten largest in the world. Our site brings together everyone from students to studio heads to fun moms to experiment with new ideas and make games. People of all skill levels and experiences are welcome!
Ideas that started simple at the NYU GGJ have grown into impressive, award-winning, released games! 2013 GGJ game Mushroom 11 was released on Steam, after being selected for an IGF nomination, IndieCade, and the PAX 10, among other festivals and awards. Nina Freeman and Emmett Butler’s 2014 GGJ game How do you do it? is out now, and was selected for IndieCade as well as nominated for an IGF. Not everyone makes a digital game; our site’s Best Overall Game of 2014 was a board game called Lucca, which went on to become an Official Selection at IndieCade 2014.
Check out a video from a previous NYU GGJ here:
How it works:
On Friday at 6PM, we’ll kick things off with the official GGJ keynote videos and theme announcement (the same kick-off that happens all over the world!). Following the kick-off, everyone starts to brainstorm ideas, form teams, and make games. The weekend is casually structured, and you’re welcome to work at whatever pace you like, with whomever you like, using whatever you like.
The Game Center site will be open:
Friday 6PM-12AM
Saturday 9AM-12AM
Sunday 10AM-7PM
Throughout the jam, you can come and go as you please.
Our amenities:
Free coffee and there’s lots of food located within a short walk from the floor.
Free wifi, power, tons of open work space, whiteboards,
and non-digital prototype materials.
What you’ll need to bring:
Any digital hardware you’d like to use to make a game
(laptop, chargers, controllers, etc.)
Presentations and awards:
On Sunday at 5PM, everyone exhibits their game for all attendees to play. A team of judges (comprised of NYU Game Center faculty and local indie developers) give out a few fun awards that range from “Best Overall Game” to “Most Ambitious Disaster”, and the winning teams get to present their games.
Spend a weekend making games with us!
Register Here!