Get set for Global Game Jam 2020!
Ready up for Global Game Jam 2020, the event where devs create a game in just 48 hours at locations all around the world, with our handy guide.
Global Game Jam 2020 is the world’s largest game jam. People from all backgrounds and with different levels of experience come together to develop games in just 48 hours, based on a theme only revealed when the event begins. Global Game Jam 2020 begins on January 31, and you can find out how to join thousands of developers across the globe entering the event by visiting https://globalgamejam.org/. Find a game jam near you and sign up!
A game jam is all about creating and iterating quickly, so CRYENGINE is, of course, ideal for anyone thinking about entering. Crytek entered four teams last year, and you can check out those games, learn about how they were created, and find out about the experience of team members who took part in a series of articles below:
Homebound
Available for you to download from the CRYENGINE Marketplace, check out Homebound, a game where you have to make your way home from a tavern on a stormy night. A crew of six people created the game in just 48 hours. Find out how the team set about the task and pick up some hints and tips for creating games quickly in our case study.
Haven
Haven invites you to explore a beautiful skyscape. Find out more in our interview with the team.
Escape Home
Play the role of a blind teenager in stealth game Escape Home. Learn more in our Q&A.
Get out and Play
Become a child who must help their mother and explore a charming island in Get out and Play. Read all about it in our blog with insights from the team.
Top Tips from our team members who took part last year:
“Build a working prototype as quickly as possible. It doesn’t matter if the prototype looks good, just have a base and then expand your idea, instead of doing everything at once.” – Lukas Keil, Junior Audio Designer
“From the very beginning, keep the scope small. I would also recommend setting several small milestones, such as creating a moving player, which will help keep everyone motivated.” – Joshua Nuttall, Junior Software Engineer.
“It’s better to start with a small scope. You should build one core feature for the game, which feels good and then add different elements to it. It’s better to have a small polished game than a big one with lots of features that aren’t finished or feel clunky.” – Manuel Härtl, Junior Programmer for Hunt: Showdown
Assets and Resources:
To help you get prepared, we’ve pulled together a few resources so you can hit the ground running when Global Game Jam 2020 kicks off.
If you’re taking part, sign up to our official Discord channel where our teams will be posting updates about their progress, and you can chat with fellow devs taking part in the challenge live. You can also join the official Global Game Jam Discord, and if Twitter is your thing, stay up to date and share your progress with the hashtag #CryJam.
Creating a game jam game is all about speed, scope, and iteration. A great place to start is checking out our Galaxysys Sample Project, which you can download for free from the CRYENGINE Marketplace, showing what you can achieve in a limited amount of time. You can read insights from members of the team who made the game in our interview.
We also have a huge range of asset packs which are available for free from the CRYENGINE Marketplace. We’ve picked out a few of our favorites which are worth downloading in advance, so you have drop-in-and-play props to get you going quickly:
A collection of high quality plants and bushes as used in Ryse: Son of Rome.
A versatile package of trees and grass.
A great sample that you can mod for your Global Game Jam project.
A wide variety of fantastic rock textures.
Construction blocks and iron fencing, ideal for an urban, industrial, or building site scene.
All these assets are game-ready, require no plugins, and will help you realize a range of different projects, so get downloading.
Tutorials and Documentation:
If you’re new to CRYENGINE, we recommend checking out the CRYENGINE GameSDK Sample Project, which shows you how to set up a level.
Video Tutorials:
We have a range of tutorials to help you with different aspects of game development with our engine. Our FlappyBoid tutorial is a great step-by-step guide to creating a complete game with CRYENGINE for beginners. You can also head to our YouTube channel to check out a wide range of tutorials, covering everything from creating animated characters, to using the Mannequin Editor to program animated characters, prepping to use C++ with CRYENGINE, and adding audio using Fmod Studio.
Written Documentation:
We also suggest bookmarking the official CRYENGINE documentation. A few pieces you may wish to check out before beginning the event include our Getting Started guide, our guide to the editor tools, the section on entities and components, the console and config file reference, and the technical documentation for programmers.
Global Game Jam is an amazing event, and we can’t wait to see what the CRYENGINE community creates!
Connect with the community over on our official CRYENGINE Discord channel and stay tuned to everything CRYENGINE on the forum, or via Facebook and Twitter. If you find a bug in the engine, please report it directly on GitHub, which helps us to process the issue quickly and efficiently.
Are you looking for your next career move? At Crytek, we value diversity. We actively encourage people from all kinds of backgrounds and experience levels to apply to our open positions, so join us over at LinkedIn and check out our careers page.
