Jam Jam 2018 attracted game jam organizers around the world together

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On June 29th, almost 70 game jam organizers from all over the world arrived into the middle of a Finnish forest in Sappee, Finland. Here the Finnish Game Jam organized the annual Jam Jam Festival. For three days, jam organizers and jammers discussed, networked and shared ideas.

 

Friday’s seminar was full with interesting talks, such as Sun Park talking about making weird games every month, Astrid Mie Refstrup about the obstacles for event organizing, and Arvi Teikari talking about the jam-born Baba is You game. The full list of the speeches included:

  • Project.99 – Making Weird Games Every Month – Sun Park, Turtle Cream
  • Event Organising – All the Obstacles to Look Out for – Astrid Mie Refstrup, Nordic Game Jam
  • Finding Identity of Slavic Game Jam over the Years  – Kacper Domański, Slavic Game Jam
  • Molesting the Match-3 Market and other Jammed Games – Petri Purho
  • Baba is You – Arvi Teikari
  • How I Tried to MAKE MUSIC 4 UR GAMES – Elie Abraham, Elie & Ian
  • Jamming Across the World – Some Challenges of Jamming in Different
  • Countries and Cultures – Jo Summers, Global Game Jam
  • Why Game Jam – A Story about Personal and Communal Benefits  – Miikka Harjuntausta
  • Jamming a Game while Cycling 600 km on a Tandem – Jonne Harja & Samuli Jääskeläinen

 

Saturday and Sunday consisted from more than 10 workshops, that anyone of the participants could organize. The workshops also including a 1h game jam, in which the participants created 8 games. In addition, the #JamBike duo Jonne Harja and Samuli Jääskeläinen arrived to the place with their tandem bike, coding a game as they cycled 60 km to the location. All participants were even given the possibility to try to ride and code with the bike.

  

In addition to the official program, a lot of sharing, discussing and creating new jam ideas happened in the 8 hot tubs and 9 saunas of the 8 cabins reserved for the festival. One of the saunas was even located in a bus that was driven from Kotka to Sappee just for the weekend.

   

IGDA Finland and some IGDA’s international guests convened in the Jam Jam as well, and the combination of game jam organizers and IGDA community was certainly a fruitful one.

  

Thanks to all participants for the successful event, and our sponsors Boozembly, Korulab and Futureplay Games and our supporter Neogames! Jam Jam will be back in 2019!