LameJam is a game jam for newbies and veterans alike. Have you been interested in making games, but the idea of joining a game jam was too daunting? Let us help!
LameJam is dedicated to being a welcoming place for new game jammers. Learn about making games, making friends, and hopefully make this your first game jam, not your last.
What is a Game Jam?
A game jam is an event where people get together to make games for a set period of time. These games typically follow the same theme, which is only provided the first day of the jam. In game jams, you can opt to either work alone or in groups, but typically game jams are more fun when you’re working together! You can either bring a team or find a team day-of.
You can expect to design your game on Friday, and maybe even get a small prototype that you can play. From then until Sunday afternoon you’ll be developing and playtesting your game alongside the other jammers. While some people like to jam all night long, we encourage going home and getting a shower, a good night’s sleep, and some relaxation. You will always work better on a fresh body and mind!
So what’s the goal of a game jam? That is something unique to everyone. Some people come in to learn a new piece of technology, like a new game engine or programming language. Many people have the goal of “just finish!” where all they want to do is complete a game by the jam end period. Whether your goals are product-based or learning-based, this is a great place for you to learn and create as you see fit.
On the last day of the game jam, games are shown to the other jammers and everybody breathes a sigh of relief and swaps stories of the weekend while playing each other’s games.
For more information on game jams, check out our About Jams page.
What is LameJam?
We think making games is great, and should be accessible to anybody interested. We created LameJam to introduce new people to the world of game development and game jamming. To do this, we have introduced support mentors and game development talks from local university instructors, students, and industry professionals.
LameJam lasts three days: Friday November 26th - Sunday November 28th. On Friday we will be holding a workshop on game engines, including how to use the Godot Game Engine — a free, compact, and open-source game engine for 2D and 3D games. We will discuss game design and some tips to get you started on your first game jam. This is also when the theme will be revealed!
Saturday is a work-day, but we also plan to have some talks about game design and development running throughout the day if you need a break. We’re always looking for more speakers, so if you would be interested in giving a talk, let us know!
Whether this is your first game jam, or just your latest, we want to provide a fun and safe environment for everybody to enjoy. Meet the local game dev community, learn something new, and have fun making games.
Check out more about Lame Jam at our About page.
How do I Join or Help Out?
The best way to get started is to Join our Discord and join the jam on Itch.io!
During LameJam, mentors will be available on the Discord server to help jammers with a variety of disciplines. If you have experience with making games and would like to help out by mentoring, sign up here! You can also shoot us a direct message on Discord and we’ll get in touch.