Call for Research Projects

The IGDA's Global Game Jam 2010 opens the Call for Research Projects
(http://globalgamejam.org)

Call for Research Projects

In the framework of the Global Game Jam 2010, we are inviting all interested applicants to submit a research project.

Last year’s Global Game Jam gathered professionals, students and hobbyists from over 54 locations worldwide with the goal of developing games over a weekend. The result was 1650 people making 370 games. This year’s GGJ promises to include an even larger number of sites around the globe. The organizers believe this presents a unique opportunity for researchers interested in questions such as, but not limited to:

• Global trends in game development, as exemplified by GGJ games
• Cross-cultural communication in game jam game development
• Team creation and management in game jam game development
• Project management in game jam game development
• Iterative design and rapid prototyping in the context of a game jam event.
• Time-constrained innovation and experimentation: game jams as development event.
• Global business perspectives of the Global Game Jam.
• We hereby invite scholars in any field who wish to address research questions through the Global Game Jam event to submit a research project application.

There is no specific topic, methodology or approach that is favored, so long as the question can be well addressed through observation of or post-analysis of the GGJ event and outcomes. Some questions that will guide the reviewing process include:

• Is the proposal for a project that will add to the total body of knowledge, increase understanding, or improve game design, collaboration, or other academic disciplines?
• Why is the project needed?
• What long-term intellectual and/or economic benefits can be derived from it?
• How does the project relate to research that has already been done in the area?
• What will it accomplish?
• Will the results interest a meaningful audience or serve a particular group of users?
• Have project goals been well conceptualized and well presented?
• Is the outcome of the study clear?
• Are project objectives realistic and clearly defined? Will the methodology achieve the desired outcomes? Does the design permit the evaluation of achievement of project goals?
• Is the methodology practical and logical? Have the correct questions been asked?
• Has the applicant proved familiarity with the field; has the appropriate background research been done?
• Have all the procedures been fully described?
• Are the concepts original and innovative?
• How will the results be disseminated to reach appropriate audiences?

We encourage research projects that can have potential industry outcomes or applications, and we welcome projects that add to understanding of and further development of the cultural and social importance of the Global Game Jam.

Accepted projects will be integrated into the development and arrangement of the Global Game Jam 2010. Selected research projects will be featured as a part of the Global Game Jam (GGJ) 2010 event. Accepted projects will also have the opportunity of using the global network of sites from the early stages of the Global Game Jam organization. The Global Game Jam will also provide letters of support to aid researchers in seeking funding to support the research, and will assist in the distribution and collection of informed consent forms. (Note that acceptance does not include research funding: researchers are required to fund their projects).

Application Requirements

Submissions should consist of:

• A 3000 word maximum project description, including:

• Goals and objectives,
• Review of the relevant literature,
• Expected outcomes,
• Relevance for the game industry,
• A comprehensive timeline.

• A short CV for each of the applicants

• Brief history of current and past support

Application Deadline

Applications must be submitted no later than October 1st, at 12:00 CET. Email applications to cfp@globalgamejam.org

Announcement of Results

After review by the Global Game Jam research committee, applicants will get an answer by October 20th, 2009.

The IGDA Global Game Jam Research Proposal Committee

• Dr. Marinka Copier – New Media and Digital Culture at Utrecht University & School of Art and Technology at Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU); Utrecht, the Netherlands
• Dr. Katherine Isbister – Digital Media and Computer Science & Engineering at Polytechnic Institute of New York University; Brooklyn, USA
• Dr. Magy Seif El Nasr – School of Interactive Arts & Technology at Simon Fraser University; Vancouver, Canada

The Global Game Jam is an IGDA event being held January 29-31, 2010 at various locations around the world.

More Slides

I have received most of the slides from GDC - I hope that these help all of you. Please feel free to use these ideas in your classroom, but please credit the folks that put these together for you. I would embed them all here, but it would be overload for the blog. Please go to my SlideShare to view the slides & documentation on Mini Games in C++. Also, note the Global Game Jam slides are there as well.

Thank you Joe, Eugene and Darren, Foaad, Ian, Gorm, Anders, Miguel and Zach.

I will add the 2nd part of Jane McGonigal's interview on BoingBoing:

IGDA Education SIG Spawns First Global Game Jam

42 Sites In 15 Different Countries Already Signed On And The List Is Growing

Toronto November 4, 2008 – From 5:00pm Friday January 30th through 5:00 pm Sunday, February 2 thousands of college students, faculty and industry members and the general public will join together for a round the clock video game building experience often referred to as a Game Jam. Participants will be given the details of the game design theme and the constraints and mechanics allowed when the clock hits 5:00 in their local time zone. As the time zones change, so will those constraints, to mitigate any advantage global location might give one team over the other.

Global Game Jam (GGJ) was the brainstorm of Susan Gold, faculty and international development manager for the Master’s of Digital Media Program in Vancouver and chair of the Education Special Interest Group of the International Game Developers Association.

“I wanted to find a project that explored the incredible creative collaborative nature of video games,” says Gold. "I thought a global experience would really show the strength of the game development community by having a project that crossed all cultural boundaries and everyone could participate simultaneously.”

Inexperienced in the ways of the game jams in general, Gold got in touch with the team that runs the successful annual Nordic Game Jam. "The Nordic Game Jam is proud to be a part of the Global Game Jam", says Gorm Lai, founding member of the Nordic Game Jam. "Game jams are all about coming together to develop creative new game ideas in an environment of cooperation. It is great to see that idea elevated to a global level, and into a tool that brings us all closer together."

The GGJ is being sponsored by Mekensleep Studios and Take 2 Interactive.

For more information on participating in the Global Game Jam, visit
http://www.globalgamejam.org