One question which has been asked many times by students and recent graduates from the UK’s games courses is: How do I get out there and network with potential employers while we’re in the middle of lockdown?
We finally have a solution – and it involves making games…
Game Parade 2020 is a game jam with a difference. It’s being run specifically to help Britain’s new games talent to showcase their work to the country’s leading developers and publishers.
Those self same developers/publishers will be judging the competition as well, so it’s the perfect opportunity to get out there and show what you can do.
Who’s Behind It?
Game Parade is being organised by Games Jobs Live aka, the marvellous Colin MacDonald. The judges already include: Studio Gobo, Universal Music, Electric Square, MAG Interactive, Redbeard Games and Storm in a Teacup, with more studios coming soon.
When Does it Start?
Game Parade 2020 starts at 19:00 on Sunday 11 October and runs for a full seven days (so October 17, though submissions are open until 23:59 just in case…)
Who Can Join?
The jam is wide, wide open. Anyone can join in. Individuals and teams are welcome. The organisers are suggesting capping your team at six people (otherwise you’ll end up managing rather than making, but hey producers – that’s your moment to shine…)
Submission
For simplicity’s sake (and because there may be a *lot* of entries), your project must run on Windows or within a web browser. You can of course support any other platforms you wish, but for judging, you must include one of the two above platforms.
After you submit your game you’ll be asked to provide a link to download and inspect your project (that’s not an official part of the evaluation process, but some judges may wish to do it, so they can check out your mad skills…)
Judging
The judging period will last two weeks after the jam closes. Everyone gets a vote – even non-participants folks. During the second week, the jam’s industry partners will jump in to provide their evaluation.
These will be exposed through Judge’s Pick categories. The public will rate the games in terms of Overall, Visuals, Fun, and Sound.
Ownership
Every game submitted to the jam is your property. Game Jobs Live will never claim any ownership. But by taking part you give permission to the organiser to show your submission in videos and livestreams to showcase your awesome entry.
Official Channels
There’s an official Game Parade Discord server you may want to join to look for teammates, use for sharing your progress, or find support during (and after) the jam.
There are already channels for DevLogs and Post Mortems. The organisers are also *strongly* encouraging teams to write a daily progress report, to show your working and to make it clear how you’ve tackled the challenges and the solutions your team has come up with. Not only does that give the judges incredibly valuable insight into how you tackled the whole jam, it could also help other teams and developers who could be facing similar issues.
Ignore the normal games industry habit of never, ever saying anything ever. Show your working. Let’s make this a beautiful shared experience and we can all grow together!
Registrations are open NOW.
You can find out more and sign up on the official Game Parade Itch.io page.
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