UMBC will be the Baltimore host site for the 2011 Global Game Jam, an international computer game making festival taking place this coming weekend, January 28th-30th. This is a 48 hour event, where teams from around the globe work to each develop a complete game over one weekend. The first year had 54 sites in 23 countries. Last year, there were 124 sites in 34 countries. The Baltimore site is open to participants at all skill levels, and it is not necessary to be a UMBC student to register. Thanks to generous support by Next Century there is no registration fee for the UMBC site. Participation will be limited to the first 40 registrants.
The jam will start at 5:00pm on Friday 28 January in the UMBC GAIM Lab, ECS room 005a. At that time, the theme for this year's games will be announced, and we'll brainstorm game ideas and form into teams. There is no need to come as a team: each individual has an equal chance to pitch their game ideas, and you can join the team whose game you like best. Teams will have until 3:00pm on Sunday 30 January to develop their games. We'll have demos of each game and selection of local awards, wrapping up by 5:00pm Sunday.