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Anyone Interested In A GOL Game Jam?

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Some time ago I half-joked about setting up a GamingOnLinux Game Jam of sorts and got some positive feedback on IRC. So, I've recently been thinking about bringing the idea from joke stage and actually setting something like this up.

The general idea is that we would give you, the potential participants, a set time period to develop a game on Linux using native tools (SDL, Godot, Unity3D etc.) and have a submission page somewhere (Itch.io perhaps) for you to submit your games. The community could vote for their favourites and in the end we would have a winner.

As you can see, at the moment we don't have detailed plans of any sort. This is the first time we would attempt to do something like this. And that's exactly why I would ask you, the dear members of GOL, what do you think about an event like this? Would you participate? Should there be a prize for the winner(s) and if so what would that prize be?

There are a lot of open questions at the moment but I think it would be a really nice event to hold. I believe that it could benefit us by showcasing Linux as a game development platform in addition to allowing people to learn about game development and possibly promoting various game development tools we have available on Linux.

For the first event I think we should probably keep it simple and forget about themes to allow innovation to flow freely. I also don't think restricting the submissions to a single weekend would be beneficial for us, so maybe we should start with a longer submission time (2 weeks, maybe?).

If you have any feedback, please send it our way and we might incorporate that stuff into our plans should we run an event like this. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I'm a Linux gamer from Finland. I like reading, long walks on the beach, dying repeatedly in roguelikes and ripping and tearing in FPS games. I also sometimes write code and sometimes that includes hobbyist game development.
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22 comments
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RTheren Sep 23, 2015
Sweet :)

Prize could be Mycroft Device :D
dnlbaines Sep 23, 2015
I'd certainly be interested in this!
Fenix2412 Sep 23, 2015
Sounds nice. You should do this.
bubexel Sep 23, 2015
yep! can be funny D: maye i will participate with a friend ;D
Segata Sanshiro Sep 23, 2015
Great idea!
coryrj19951 Sep 23, 2015
Sounds like a great idea!
Although I can't program or really make a game, I would love to see what other people come up with!
Linas Sep 23, 2015
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This is a great idea, but is not a small task to undertake alone. I would suggest partnering up with a Linux-friendly company like Feral, Aspyr, or Humble Bundle to get both publicity and support. Or with somebody who makes the development tools, so that they could be platform sponsors, and make it for example a Godot jam or Unity jam. And that is not even the hard part. The hard part is making this feel like an event. And in my mind that means an actual physical event. Which is certainly doable if you limit the scope geographically to, lets say, the Nordic countries. The most important is to limit the scope in some way, and go with it, because doing stuff on a global scale very quickly becomes overwhelming.


Last edited by Linas on 23 September 2015 at 8:37 pm UTC
zimplex1 Sep 23, 2015
I like the idea... Though I think you shouldn't get rid of themes... I think with limitation comes creativity. I think this could be a good way to showcase the Linux platform and the site in a fun and positive way.
edve98 Sep 23, 2015
I would definitely participate! Not sure about the prize, but I suggest that the jam period should be 7 days. I really hope this becomes a thing!
Narcotix Sep 23, 2015
awesome idea. i would love to participate too, and maybe i can convince some of my friends (who're doing Ludum Dare with me) as well
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