GDS Game Jam 2023

About our
Game Jam

GDS JAM 2023 is a 48 hours game development hackathon, which will happen on 24th - 26th November, organized by GDS team and the Charles University in Prague. Anybody can sign up and compete for a prize and for fun. The GDS GAME JAM is a great place for you to meet new friends, acquire new skills, try out new ideas, be creative and have a good time in a fantastic atmosphere. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned game developer, you are welcome at GDS GAME JAM.

This year's main partner and sponsor is Wargaming, who will have members present at the jam, so you can stop by and chat with them! An additional sponsor are Unity and Yahaha.

Anybody can sign up and compete for honor and fun. Game jams are here to bring people of various skills keen on game development together; an opportunity to meet new friends, acquire new skills, try out new ideas, and be creative. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned game developer, GDS JAM 2023 is for you. Top three teams will get free access to the Game Developer's Session, where the final winner will be announced!

Our game jams are open to anyone willing to create a video game. We are glad that the atmosphere at our site is friendly and all participants share their experience and help each other to develop a game. Furthermore, game development lecturers and industry professionals will be available on-site to help you solve your issues during development.

At the end of the jam, all participants will be able to vote for their favourite game from the jam receiving a PEOPLE’S AWARD of GDS JAM 2023!

This year's jam limit is 120 participants, so join quickly! Only the first 100 joined on itch.io will be allowed to enter the real-life site, make sure all your team members are here!

When, where, for whom?

24. – 26. 11. 2023 (Friday – Sunday)
Itch.io (2023) as the main gamejam platform
GDS Discord channel as a main communication platform
The game jam is opened for everybody and is completely free!

The game jam will be hosted by Gamedev at Charles University at the Malá Strana building on Malostranské náměstí 25, Prague. We will provide each participant with a comfortable seat for work, internet access, basic kitchen appliances, and some refreshments to enjoy the jam and really focus on the game and collaboration with your friends and colleagues.

Facilities provided

Toasters, kettles, pots, dishes and all the elementary kitchen equipment
25 comfortable floating beds (if you take a sleeping bag, it is easy to get some sleep in one of the empty rooms)
Showers
Working space

Prizes

Nothing can replace the feeling of creating and experimenting with something new. However, we will still like to give some form of feedback and appreciation for your creations. All participants will receive a discount code for the GDS Conference 2023 Beyond that, there are several prizes available for participants in two categories:

GDS JAM 2023 Best Game Award (as voted by the panel of judges) - top three teams in this category will receive the certificate signed by our jury and Tickets to GDS Conference 2023. The top team will be announced at the GDS Conference. What will be the main prize will be announced at the opening speech of the jam.
The People’s Award of GDS JAM 2023 (as voted by participants) - will be announced and receive a signed certificate from organisers and more. What will be the prize will be announced at the opening speech of the jam.

Voting

All participants who will submit a game or who will be contributors to some submission may vote on the games. Note that you will NOT be able to update your submissions during the voting period to ensure fairness! Although, you can still modify your webpage however you want.

There will be 7 categories for ranking the games:

Overall impression (PRIMARY CATEGORY)
Theme (is the game related to the theme?)
Innovation (gameplay is innovative?)
Fun (game is fun to play?)
Controls (game controls are snappy, easy to play with?)
Visuals (nice looking game?)
Music & Sounds (nice audio in the game?)

Rules

Max team size - 4 jammers; join the jam; submit your game on time to itch.io!
The build must run either on Windows 10+ based computer and/or Android 6.0+ mobile device; if you're targeting WebGL, make sure to make it compatible with at least one of the mentioned devices.

Code of Conduct - Be kind and polite!
Jam Terms & Conditions - Lawyerish regular stuff!
Rules

Especially note that as a part of submission, you're required to fill out this form

Partners

The event is organized in cooperation with GAME DEVELOPMENT@CUNI.CZ. This year's main partner and sponsor is Wargaming, who will have members present at the jam, so you can stop by and chat with them! An additional sponsor are Unity and Yahaha Studios.