From January 26 to 28, 2024, we took part in the Global GameJam 2024 in Karlsruhe together with many other partners from Baden-Württemberg. As usual, the aim of this weekend was to develop a game based on a given theme within 48 hours.
After we had already hosted the Global GameJam twice (in 2020 and 2023) on our premises and thus provided a so-called "jam site" in the Lake Constance region, we broke new ground this year. We were approached by the MFG Baden-Württemberg to see if we could imagine forming a large, central jam site for 200 people in the premises of the ZKM in Karlsruhe together with several other jam sites and partners. Since we had recently organized our own local Bodensee-GameJam, we agreed to this project to simply see something different and to give us a little more visibility as a toolbox or Spieleentwicklung Bodensee.
So on Friday, January 26, we drove to Karlsruhe with 7 participants from the Toolbox and 3 others from Constance, whom we know from the game developer meeting point "gamesKN", as well as a friend from Frankfurt, who has often participated in our GameJams, and spent a creative weekend there.
The motto of the jam, "Make Me Laugh", was announced on site in a video. This was followed by brainstorming and a number of concrete ideas emerged, which had to be implemented in the form of a game over the next 48 hours. It turned out that the theme, which sounded a little unusual at first, offered more room for interpretation and freedom than initially thought.
The deadline for the project was set for Sunday at 5pm. However, we were confronted with another intermediate deadline, because by Saturday evening at 11:59 pm, each team had to produce a short 30-second teaser video, which was presented on the screen at the end of the event. In the end, everyone was given a summarized overview of what had been created in the last 48 hours, as most of us were understandably very absorbed in our work during the jam.
The games that were created within our group:
Angry Wizard
This game is all about movement: standing in front of a webcam, you move your arms to turn your body into a game controller. The aim is to control a sorcerer's apprentice who has to catch falling objects and sort them onto the shelf.
Link to the game: Angry Wizard
Time To Tickle The Tyrant
The aim here is to use the mouse to control a cloud, which in turn blows a feather through a course to finally tickle the feet of the sleeping tyrant. The wind and all other sources of air turbulence are calculated according to a physical model.
Link to the game: Time To Tickle The Tyrant
Make It Stop
A large, round button invites you to press it. But if you press it, you have to live with the consequences - all too quickly, pressing a harmless-looking button can lead to unforeseen consequences.
Link to the game: Make It Stop
lachÄmol
Hateful lederhosen wearers are up to mischief and building burning walls between people. Hans the Problem Solver tries to counteract this trend by collecting and using rainbow washing powder.
Link to the game: lachÄmol
The teaser video mentioned in the article with all the projects that were created in Karlsruhe can be seen in the following YouTube video: