Board Game Design Lab Discord

Spoopy Jam event logo and title text

Spoopy Jam 3: Spoopy as Heck

Global Game Jam, Ostara: Games for Spring, and Insert Game [Here] have grown exponentially as access points to game development in the winter, spring, and summer, but what if you still have an itch in your skeleton to make something new this fall? The UNO Criss Library Creative Production Lab and RHO Interactive are serving a heaping stack of fun with a Halloween-flavored game jam event dedicated to easing new designers into the challenge of game design. As always, we are 100% FREE!

NEW FOR 2021: Every board game that completes a print-and-play version or a complete box-set will have their creation printed in the CPL and added to the Criss Library Board Game Collection for patron checkout. Any video game made to the specifications of our arcade machine will get added to public play rotation.

New to game dev or jams? During our jam events we announce a conceptual theme at the beginning of the event, and all participants have the same (short) amount of time to make a brand new game based on that theme in that time. Developers are free to make any kind of game or experience they want, and have ended up making everything from board and card games, text adventures, playground games, 2D and 3D video games, all the way up to unique virtual reality experiences.

Members of the UNO community are welcome to come into the CPL and utilize any computers or equipment on hand for development, including our new Board Game Kit Bash Case. This rolling cart unit includes a plethora of supplies for getting your board game started and playable.

Spoopy Jam is active leading into the semester break, giving everyone plenty of time to test the waters of design. With the move to a primarily online format, digital contact and the ability to upload your games for sharing are extra important. We've pushed the whole event to itch.io to allow developers from around the world to work remotely alongside local devs and students.

The secret theme is announced at the October 7th OGDA meeting and everyone is given 10 days of prep before the final rush weekend and presentations. On Sunday the 10th, everyone is given an opportunity to pitch their idea or budding project to assemble a team or find help for the work crunch. This is the perfect format for new developers to get into the game jam format, or folks that just want a bit more time to polish their work. Signups are live on our itch.io page, and anyone interested in talking with other participants to form a new team or get tips can join our Discord server.

We welcome first time game developers! Designers, artists, musicians, programmers, voice actors, hobbyists, educators, anyone and everyone is welcome to try their hand at making a game. If video games aren't your thing or access to hardware is an issue, you're encouraged to test the waters by making a board game! To help everyone have remote access to creative software, CPL staff have compiled a list of open-source options HERE.

Anyone can participate, as long as they are over the age of 18. More information and registration can be found at insertgamehere.org

Schedule

Thursday October 7th

7:00 – 8:30 P.M.: Theme announced at the Omaha Game Developer's Online Meetup, and via Discord.

Sunday October 10th

2 P.M. - 5 P.M.: Team-building and project pitch meeting via Discord.

Saturday October 16th

12 A.M. - 11 P.M.: Spoopy Crunch Time. Everyone is given the entire day and evening to work on their games alongside a fully active Discord. Chat. Check in. Eat candy.

Sunday October 17th

12 A.M. - 3 P.M.: Final Development Time!

3 – 5 P.M.: Presentations of final projects via Discord

7 P.M.: Deadline for itch.io game submissions online

Everyone is encouraged to register online via itch.io, here.

Join the Discord server: https://discord.gg/Wg7jxKQ

For specific requests, email Charles Fisher.