ASPIRING video game developers in Bahrain will get a chance to learn new skills as part of a two-week game jam being hosted next week.
GGJ (Global Game Jam) NEXT is an annual event organised by the Global Game Jam for youth aged between 12 and 17 who are interested in learning how to develop video games.
The 2020 online event features a week of learning through a carefully designed game development curriculum followed by a week of a youth game jam.
It will take place virtually between Sunday and July 23 in collaboration with local guidance counsellors and during the two-week camp participants will also enjoy free access to GameMaker, a series of cross-platform game engines, for two months.
The curriculum is a series of micro-lessons for educators covering topics of jamming, game design, coding, among others.
The Global Game Jam team has created the curriculum so that teachers, camp counsellors, youth leaders or anyone can learn to teach game development and run game jams.
The curriculum is also offered in Arabic thanks to the translation of the material by contributors like Unreal Bahrain.
Unreal Bahrain, a game development community in Bahrain, was set up in 2017 to create a game development industry in Bahrain.
Founder Yousef BuHazza told the GDN that the game jam was an excellent opportunity for aspiring game developers to learn more about what it takes to make video games.
Opportunity
“We are happy to collaborate with organisers of the Global Game Jam to bring GGJ NEXT to Bahrain, it offers a unique opportunity for creators to learn game development at a young age,” he said.
“Unreal Bahrain trained more than 300 participants last year; this was possible due to partners such as Unido, the French Embassy, Economic Development Board (EDB), Alkooheji Foundation, and Bahrain4All.”
For 12 years, the Global Game Jam has been empowering game creators and students around the world in record numbers, and for 2020 it aims to bring a truly global impact to young creators aged 12 to 17.
Global Game Jam president and professor of video games at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana Joseph Olin said the event was designed to be easy to use for teachers to help children come up with their own games.
“We’ve created GGJ NEXT with educators in mind; the programme is designed to build upon adolescents’ love of video games,” said Mr Olin.
“It is a complement to high school academics offering a structured programme to introduce computer programming, art, animation and teamwork with the goal of sparking young minds,” he said.
GGJ NEXT for 2020 has been redesigned as an online-only event so that young people interested in learning about creating games will still have the opportunity to take part, and this format also expands to provide teaching resources not only to jam leaders and educators, but also to parents who may want to facilitate their child’s participation.
GGJ NEXT provides game creation resources and lessons from a diverse, international group of game designers and educators and delivers the curriculum directly to teachers, parents and communities. Young creators taking part in GGJ NEXT will be able to showcase their new skills, creative ideas and personal self-expression through games on the GGJ NEXT website where videos created by the young jammers will be hosted.
For registration and more information, visit ggjnext.org.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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