Global Game Jam Coming 1/25; Pre-Event Workshop; Startup Weekend in March!

[Eric Renz-Whitmore]

This is a bit of cross-posting, but I hope you'll find it interesting. The next several weeks include two hackathon-style events, the "Global Game Jam" at the end of this month and Startup Weekend at the beginning of March. If you'd like to connect with other developers and have a little fun, these might work for you.

Hi everyone...

Global Game Jam 2013 comes to Albuquerque and Las Cruces January 25-27

I think most folks interested in game development in NM are also on Facebook (both Rio Grande IGDA & Rio Grande ACM SIGGRAPH are healthy and involved) and the RG IGDA Meetup Group. There's certainly not much discussion happening here!  But if you are here :) and/or you know of other groups out there that include game developers, designers, and others who might be interested. Please share this with them - and those venues with us.

New Mexico will have two sites participating in the 5th Annual Global Game Jam. We've participated since the beginning and once again game developers, designers and others interested will be able to produce their games in both Albuquerque and Las Cruces. 

Is this the *best* way to make a complete game? Probably not. Is it a fun and somewhat intense way to meet others working in game design and development (or aspiring to), try and develop new skills, learn a bit about iterating quickly and get to the heart of what makes a game playable and focus on that? You betcha.

If you haven't already, please sign up and get more info about the Albuquerque site (IFDM @ UNM Main Campus) here: 

http://www.meetup.com/RG-IGDA-Meetup-Group/events/96009982/

Want to get on the list for Las Cruces? Find more info and check in at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/126331787532054/

If you know of others who are interested in getting involved with game development, this is an excellent opportunity to start. Please spread the word!

Want to know a little more about the Jam and hone your skills on the Unity3D Game Engine? 

We're planning a mini workshop the Saturday prior at the Flying Star in Corrales (just north of Albuquerque and down the hill from Rio Rancho) for both.Unity3D has become one of the most popular game engines to develop with during previous jams because of its gentle learning curve, robust capabilities and ease of deployment for mobile and more. If we can get five or six participants, Sean McCracken will lead a workshop to help get beginners up to speed. (We expect attendees to have installed the basic program with Pro and Android trials as well as a basic understanding of game engines -Download here.) If you're interested in participating, sign up here: http://www.meetup.com/RG-IGDA-Meetup-Group/events/98792132/

If you'd like more info on the Jam but can't make it, please post your questions and consider setting up a quick huddle w/ Meetup or Facebook. There are a few dozen previous participants who can help and tell a bit more about their experiences.

Taking the Next Step with Startup Weekend (March 1-3 in Santa Fe)

For many of us interested in game development, it's not far down the road to launching the game as a product or starting a business. Startup Weekend has a similar format to the game jam, but it's intent is to get people with complementary talents together to quickly develop and test (and test and develop) a business model that's actually viable. Does it work? In addition to a few dozen companies launched, the program has been successfully run in over a hundred countries and included nearly 100K entrepreneurs (with some backing and sponsorship from the Kauffman Foundation, Google, Microsoft... those kinds of folks). It's become its own movement. And the nature of the games and web/mobile/interactive development are particularly suited to this kind of format. If you're interested, please let me know!

We hope you'll participate, help spread the word and stop by at least some of these events. We really do need you and your involvement to grow a real game industry here in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, best wishes to all for the new year!

Eric