The Global Game Jam® (GGJ) is the world's largest game creation event taking place around the world. The event stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of game development through programming, design, narrative, and artistic expression. Condensed into a shortened development cycle, GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.

This year we're back to hosting the event in-person! Meet new developers, artists, and creatives from around the world also interested in game design. Saturday February 4th and Sunday February 5th everyone is invited to UNO's Mammel Hall for team-building, brainstorming, and open development time.

How it Works

Prior to the event, join local developers and hobbyists on Discord to learn about development, share your ideas, and join a team.

Zero game design or development experience is necessary to participate. Video games and board games are fully supported. Designers, developers, artists, musicians, knitters, gardeners, architects, everyone and anyone is welcome to try their hand at making a game during the GGJ. If you want to make a new game within or using the tools of an existing game you can and should! Not sold on being a full on developer yet? You can learn many new skills and support your team by contributing ideas, playtesting, and giving moral support. You could even work on a non-digital game, or learn new skills through coding a digital game.

The event begins early online on January 30th with a short video keynote and advice from leading game developers; then the secret theme is announced. All sites worldwide are then challenged to make entirely new games based on the theme to be completed by Sunday afternoon Februrary 5th. Participants are invited to explore new technology tools, trying on new roles in development and testing their skills in new ways that requires them to design, develop, create, test, and make a new game.

Locally, developers will meet at UNO's Mammel Hall room 218, 10:00am on Saturday February 4th to brainstorm, break off into teams, and prepare their game project. Teams can stay until 10pm Saturday, and return to keep working at 10am Sunday the 5th. 

Anyone can participate, as long as they are over the age of majority or an active UNO student. For Omaha, this means you need to be 19 to participate. Underage jammers can also participate if they are accompanied by a legal guardian at all times.

Meet other developers, ask questions, and start a team by joining the official discord.

Everyone interested in participation needs to register online via the Global Game Jam page.

If anyone has any specific requests or concerns, email Charles Fisher.