The Global Game Jam (1/30 – 2/1): A Pizza Powered Premiere

Will there be shouting?
Could be.
How about tears?
Maybe.
And pizza?
No doubt!

Friday (1/30) at 5P until 5P Sunday (2/1) the New Media Institute will be the scene of a new media first – the inaugural Global Game Jam. Below you will find more information about the GGJ from UGA’s site coordinator, Casey O’Donnell. But what you really need to know is that about a dozen game geeks (hey, that is what they call themselves) will gather to create a playable game – in 48 hours! Creativity on a deadline is a recipe for drama – so stay tuned.

Yeah, this is a cool event. But more than just creating a game, this is really a kick-off. UGA is getting into the game biz!

Georgia (the state) has staked a claim in the growing gaming industry. In May, Governor Perdue signed the best tax incentive package for gaming companies in the country. Georgia is currently home to over 20 game-related companies with hundreds of employees. The Georgia Department of Economic Development has created a video-game czar to help recruit and support video game companies (think of Asante Bradford as a kind of friendly czar). And Georgia colleges and universities are cranking up programs to support a sector that is still growing – when others aren’t.

Now UGA is stepping up to play its part. Casey O’Donnell, a newly minted Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (and, yeah, RPI is a techno heavy-weight) with a wealth of experience in videogame companies, has joined the faculty in the Telecommunications Department in the Grady College. And he is teaching in the NMI this year.

Professor O’Donnell has set a goal of making UGA a videogame player. But we won’t be trying to duplicate what they are doing at that other institution on North Avenue. Casey is helping UGA understand that there is room for more than computer coders in gaming field. Game companies need graphic designers, musicians, videographers, writers, even advertising people. In short, those companies need the type of creativity that we swim in at UGA.

Although gaming is a powerful segment of the digital economy, UGA is not just interested in developing the videogame workforce. Through our focus on gaming, we are going to learn more about interactivity. Always the bread and butter of gaming, interactivity is now vital to all new media. Understanding the ways games captivate players can help publishers and broadcasters develop the products and services that will thrive in the new digital marketplace. Videogames can be our entrée to making new media content more engaging and involving.

So the Global Game Jam is just the first step. I promise to send you a report – and pictures. I think these guys will make something very cool happen. Never underestimate the power of pizza!