Localizing Global Game Jam: Designing Game Development for Collaborative Learning in the Social Context

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Localizing Global Game Jam
Designing Game Development for Collaborative
Learning in the Social Context
K. Shin, K. Kaneko, Y. Matsui, K. Mikami, M.Nagaku,
T. Nakabayashi, K. Ono, and Shinji Yamane
IGDA Japan
November 2012
S.Yamane et al. (IGDA.jp) Game Jam Nov. 2012 1 / 18

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Contents
...1 Introduction
...2 Game Jam approach
...3 Fukushima Game Jam
...4 After the Jam
...5 Summary

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Introduction
Latest News:
Fukushima Game Jam game download is
outage in this weekend!
By the major power outage in campus
After Monday, you can download and play
the games freely at
http://fgj12.ecloud.nii.ac.jp/

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Introduction
Menu
...1
In playing and making games, we collaborate.
...2
“Game Jam” as new approach of game
development
...3
Designing the game jam for the social problem
...4
Fukushima Game Jam 2011 (and 2012)
...5
Creative recovery/place–making after 3.11
earthquake, tsunami, and atomic meltdown
...6
Educating the next generation of developers
...7
. . . and localized game jams everywhere

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Game Jam approach
About Game Jam approach
“jam session” by game developers
ad-hoc team development
weekend project: extremely short period
death match myth: each roles has own break
not a contest, not for a win
everybody is welcome
not begginers but professionals also can learn
free download, public/peer review, version-up

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Game Jam approach
Designing game jam with purpose
We propose to design the game jam with three types:
Global Game Jam globally distributed event for general
purpose
Localized Global Game Jam mega–regional or
nation–wide event with social purpose
Local game jam in–house, stand–alone event for a
local purpose

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Fukushima Game Jam
Fukushima Game Jam
Fukushima Game Jam 2012 in 1 minute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5apdF6Ri7RE
Fukushima Game Jam 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XMsAd3nmpU
http://www.youtube.com/user/japangamejam

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Fukushima Game Jam
Main site: Minamisoma city
Interactive Map in English:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/
mapping-fukushimas-impact-on-japan
Minamisoma city in Fukushima is located at the
edge of low–level radiation zone.

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy 1: Process
Alpha, beta, public play test, and ﬁnal release are
scheduled in 30 hours
Tokyo team also experienced the bus trip with a local
guide to the edge of the evacuation zone just before
starting design.

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy2: Participatory Design
Public play–test and kids workshop
Focusing the users’ needs sometimes changed the
game design.

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy 3: Listening to users
Some observation from Minamisoma bus trip and
live–streaming program during the game jam:
No IT industry: agriculture and service market for
nuclear power station
No university
Public awareness concerning

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy 4: Team
Each team has 5–7 person
Jammers registration with their proﬁle
Professional/semi-professional lead programmer
for each team
Beginner/student for each team
Separate developers from a same organization
Sometimes too many programmers and less
manual writers

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy 5: satellites
More than 100 developers took part in Fukushima
Game Jam 2011:
Main site: 44 (25 from Tokyo, 19 from Tohoku
region)
Tokyo: about 40 (2 sites including part-time
attendee)
Fukuoka: about 30
Sapporo: 7
SHIPS (Sympathy, Interest, Participation, Share)
expanded overseas in FGJ 2012.

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Fukushima Game Jam
Design strategy 6: achievements
Theme is “Tsunagari” (relationship or connection)
(1) Collaboration with kids
(2) Tohoku Include the specialties from Tohoku area
(3) First contact
(4) No instruction
(5) Five minutes limit
(6) Language Free
(7) Interface
(8) Link
Jammers can select more than one achievements

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After the Jam
Lessons from Global Game Jam
All teams made up their games in FGJ2011.
A few teams could do alpha–beta–complete
iteration in 30 hours.
With positive feedback, FGJ2012 also held in last
August.
As same as GGJ, FGJ2011 has provided the
lessons for each developers:

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After the Jam
FGJ and Lessons from Global Game
Jam
...1
Rapid prototyping experience
...2
Opportunity for failure
...3
Working in diverse teams
...4
(Professional) Tools assessment and selection
...5
Research and user studies
...6
Promotion
these characteristics never experienced in the huge
game company were also observed in FGJ (expect for
avoiding failure).

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Summary
Conclusion
First nation-wide game jam without the support of
federal government
supports from game industries and grass–rooted
game developers community
Creative recovery/place–making after 3.11 divide
Collaboration between kids and professionals
Bringing the prototyping culture to package game
developers, kids, and other citizens
Huge public awareness but less feedbacks (We’ll
held a indie game test show including FGJ games
at Tokyo in this month.)

. . . . . .
Summary
See you in our next game jam.
...1
Global Game Jam 2013 (2013/1/25–27)
...2
Fukushima Game Jam 2013, (maybe) next August
...3
Jam sites in Japan provides live–streaming with
interviews during the Jam.

Localizing Global Game Jam: Designing Game Development for Collaborative Learning in the Social Context

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