During the event - Creating the emulation and the excitement

3 years ago by Hitbox Makers (@HitboxMakers)

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It is great to help the participant to finishing their games. But a real world gathering is much more than that. It is an incredibly intense and stimulating adventure. And the animation is key to create this atmosphere.

A clear schedule

To make it more comfortable for everyone, write somewhere visible the schedule, with the main highlights: animation, meals, prototype review, deadlines…

First evening: team creation and theme voting

When they arrive, the new participants might be full of expectations and very excited, but also somewhat lost and intimated. Seasoned participant might feel more at ease, but they probably too are very curious too about these new people and their skills.

The target of that first evening is to help them interact and get amazed at each other, turn that sum of individuals into a group full of wonders. They came for this, so you won’t have to push them very hard...

Let them recognize each other and make teams.

They don’t know each other. But they need to create their teams, which share their expectations, and have the right skills. So upon arrival, we ask them a few questions and we give them corresponding stickers, which they can display on their face, shirt or anywhere else visible…

Here is the last set categories we have used (each line has a different sticker color):

I am looking for a team
I work at night
I work during the day
I am a 2D designer
I am a 3D designer
I make sounds and music
I am an author
I am a developer
I am a developer, using Unity 3D
I want to make a board game

This system enables them to see straight away who they can work with.

Ice breaker

For the first hour, they will feel a bit shy, install their equipment, try to understand that sticker system but won’t talk that much with each other. That needs to be changed!

It is time to let them interact a bit more. We have 3 “ice breakers”:

Pizza, drinks... Yep, that’s the moment we bring the first hot meal. Some food is always a good way to make people feel comfortable
Theme proposal: each participant has to propose one theme (written on a paper and placed in a box). It doesn’t seem much. But now everyone is directly involved in the Jam, and has something exciting to share.
And finally, the real Ice Breaker: A animation designed to have people do something fun with people they don’t know. For example, we usually go for a “Game by its cover”: we (the organisation team), pick them 4 by 4 at random, and assign to each group a random fictional game cover taken from this site. Each group needs to imagine a pitch which would fit wit the cover, and present it to everyone.

Usually, at this stage all shyness is long forgotten, and teams are well in the process of being made.

Theme voting

Here comes the last important moment of the evening: theme voting.

We love to use a chaotic, noisy, yet extremely efficient system: 4 members of the organisation team draw a theme each. Then each of them move to different corner of the room, shout their theme, and try to convince as many participant to join him to support “his” theme. Once the group are former, we keep the theme from the largest group, eliminate the three other them, and draw 4 nex teams..

We repeat this until the box is empty until 3 themes only remain. Bad jokes, verbal jousting and other loud interjection from anyone is very welcome. The theme selected during the final vote is official Game Jam theme, and the two others are extra optional ones.

At this point, usually everybody is pretty excited, all participants have mixed a few times, and they all talk to each other. A group is born, ready for the Jam and the emulation!

Usually, the teams quickly finalise at this stage.

Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam: The theme is defined at the global level. so you can skip that animation. (Though there is official announcement broadcasted for the Global Game Jam, which is exiting too). However, if you believe that such a animation is required to bound the group, you can define a local challenge in a similar way.

Helping those who could not find a team

At this stage, some participants might not have managed to find a team.

You could help them to discuss with other teams and see if they could join. However we find it a bit dangerous. We force them to accept someone they didn’t choose. But if you ask, maybe they might not dare to say no, but still won’t like it. We have tried this a few times, and it never went well...

So our best advice, is to propose those remaining to team together. If they don’t want to, then to encourage them make their game alone. Even alone, they will still be part of the event and have plenty of opportunities to interact with the others.

Competitive Jam: The teams probably have been created long before the event. Depending on the tone you want to give (more or less competitive…), you might handle that first animation very differently.

Second evening: prototypes review and getting them out of their screens

Prototypes review

As explained earlier, it is a very good idea to warn from the beginning that a prototype is expected on saturday at 8:00 pm. When the team has arrived, the organisation team usually move from team to team to review the projects and give them some advice.

That’s the occasion to detect when a team is doing something too big for them, and steer them in the right direction. However: “respect your participants”: whether you like what you see or not, you are not here to judge. Our sole purpose is to to guide them to release something THEY like by the end of the Jam.

Get them out of their screens, and make their body shake!

We love to organize a big animation on saturday evening, which involves some running, shouting or other chaotic stuff. Anything goes, as long as we can get them out of their screens for a while.

It’s a bit like the Game Jam for the organisation team, during the Game Jam. We have had

a capture the flag in real life,
a blind test with nerfs instead of buzzers,
a kind of a Parkour,
if there hadn’t been the COVID, we had planned some really cool musical game this year...

Well you get the idea.

And of course “respect your participants”: if some don’t want to take part, that’s ok. Also, that animation should be organised in a different area than the main workspace.

Last evening: the final countdown!

The final day will usually be much more tense and focused: everybody is getting tired, and the clock is ticking… But the final reward is coming: the public testing!

H -3: Accompanying the end of the Jam

Be careful: from this point the tension will keep rising. The whole organisation team might be required to accompany this moment, calmly and discretely.

Make the deadline clear

Make sure that deadline is absolutely clear from everyone since the beginning! You don’t want anyone to be surprised.

It is good do a -quiet- reminder 2 or 3 hours before the deadline. But “Respect your participants”: there is no need to emphasize too much. They are very aware of it, and stressed enough.

Handling teams in difficulty: whatever they have, publish something!

Detect and accompany the teams in difficulty!

2 or 3 hours before the deadline, till the end you might detected some teams which are in great in great distress: their game is far from finished, it does not compile anymore, they are tired, they argue…

Some guidance or an intervention might be helpful to calm things done and reassure them. From experience, whatever they have they have done, it is very important for the whole team that they show and publish something

Some strategies:

There is no game: Show the art, make the music available, describe the concept
There is game, but it is broken: Treat is as a prototype, and explain what you expected and what went wrong (such article is called a “Post Mortem”, and it is actually very interesting to read). If you have a nasty bug, but it is still playable, try to turn that bug in a feature ;-). Some of our most memorable memories are such bugs which became a feature.
There is an unfinished game: Well, acknowledge it. And use the remaining time to implement the minimum game loop: a beginning, and an ending, even if they are just a messages telling that it starts and ends. They make a huge difference for those testing the games. It is good do to display somewhere the arts and the music which could not make it into the game.

Bear in mind that at this moment, the teams which couldn’t meet their expectations might have a much more pessimistic view on their production that it actually is: we had once a team ready to trash its whole game, because they could make their second level work. But the first was already beautiful and very innovative! So they need your help to see the bright side of their production...

H to H+1:30: Publication and some time to relax and cool down!

It’s the end! The tension is at its most!

A time buffer to resurrect

Consider that moment as a time buffer: the target is that after this moment, all the games and arts are displayed (and playable), the tables are clean, and everyone has had time to relax and eat something.

We usually bring the hot dinner (Pizza + paper towels),and some drinks 30 minutes after the deadline, when things start to cool down. It is incredible how some warm food lifts everybody’s spirit! You will gradually see the mood turn from extreme tension and frustration, to joy, amazement and laughter.

About online publication

It is a Real World Gathering, so most of you participant might not be aware or very interested in publishing their game online. But for us, it is very important to have a nice page for each game, with a description and some screenshots: it is the main recruitment tool for next edition. And it is always very nice 3 years later to remember what had been done.

However, obliging the participants to publish their game on a site (we use itch.io) would provide poor results: for many of them, it is not their priority. They want to relax and enjoy the other people (also “respect your participants”: they are exhausted... ;-) ).. And if they do, their page might be extremely minimal, with no text nor cover image; which would defeat our target: create a powerful showcase for next jam.

So, the easiest method we have found to streamline and guarantee the quality of game publication, is to prepare ourselves one itch.io page for each team (with a special account - “hitboxmakers participants”), and either invite them as administrators, or publish ourselves the game.

When a team prefers to host themselves their game, well that’s perfect! You know that they will do a great job! So, of course, we let them do. But with this organization, we know that every game will have a nice web page, with no need to hassle the participants.

Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam: for both of these Jams, the games must be published on their site.

H+1:30 to H+3: The reward: public testing!

Now comes the really exciting part, and the reward for everyone: letting the public in to test the games!

Opening to the public, for more excitement and reward.

In the first few editions, we were closed events: only the participants could test the games. It was fun.

However it got much more exciting and rewarding once we have opened the game testing to the public: they are new and fresh as they haven’t seen the creation process, they usually are amazed at the tiniest things the teams achieved, and it is always very nice to show to your friends and relatives what crazy things you have achieved.

Making room for the public

Some advices to make it easier to welcome the public in a comfortable way:

Communication: Opening to the public requires to let them know… So it requires some communication ahead of the event, either through the participants or other specific media
Organization and circulation in the demonstration area: Up to now, the room was in “Game Jam” configuration, which means, after 48h of intense work, a huge mess. It needs to be reorganised (and cleaned, and also get some fresh air too) to make circulation easier and ensure that all games are easily accessible.
Games presentation: The teams will usually do it themselves, but it looks and feels much better if a little bit of presentation is done on each table: titles written in big letters on a panel, a paperboard showing early design, or maybe a second computer displaying some sketches…

Letting the participants test the games too

It is important that the participants can test the other games and chat too! If they haven’t had time before the public arrives, advise them to plan a rotation on their stand. If they are alone, it is probably a good idea to advise them to leave their stand and go testing for 30mins, and come back later, rather than not seeing what has been done.

H+3 to H+4: Awards and conclusion

We have often had that discussion: our event is not a competition. So do we need to give a award to one or more games?

And our answer is “yes”, we feel that it needs to be done. Because it keeps a stimulation till the end, and we empower the public and the participants one last final time through their choice.

Voting: keep it simple, no ranking, nor losers

Some hint to make it work:

It needs to be simple and quick: For example, we have 2 categories only “the public choice” and “the participants choice”. Everyone simply has to write the name of his prefered game on a paper, place it in a box, we count the name, and it is done! In early jams, we tried had to replicate Ludum Dare system with everyone grading every in many categories… But it was waaaaay too long for a Real World Gathering.
We don’t want a loser: Whatever the quality of the games, every team deserves a round of applause. So we don’t want anyone to be last: once the count is done we know will receive the award, and that’s it! No second choice, no last, no ranking at all... The papers are then destroyed.

Giving the prizes and a round applause for everyone!

The conclusion and awards attribution is a highly symbolic moment, which will close the whole event. So it is nice to be a bit solemn. A few things to remember:

Before the public arrives, plan where you will attribute the award. It should be vast enough to let everyone see, and clean enough to take good pictures. (Right in front the table covered with soda bottles, and empty goblets is not that great... )
If you have partners to thank or announcement to make (future events…), do it before awarding the public and participant’s choices.
Don’t forget to give a round of applause to every teams, every organisation members, and the partners.
It is the perfect time to take a group picture.

If a good multiplayer game has been created during the Jam, we usually project it on a large screen and let people play. That’s a nice way to end smoothly!

Ludum Dare: There is a reason why, for our main Jam, we don’t take part in Ludum Dare anymore: it ends a 3.00 am for us. Everyone is exhausted, so when the game are done, we hastily publish them, and hurry our bed one after the other. Which is incredibly anti-climatic… Be warned!

Global Game Jam: A different timing it imposed. Start on friday at 5.00pm and end on sunday at 5.00pm (your local time). Also a different kind of conclusion is proposed:”Short presentations - each team does a short presentation or game play video to show the group” . But they give advice are for tiny (10 or less people) to huge (200 or more) real world gathering. So you are probably adapt to your event. The important idea is that the every games should be shared at the end of the event.

Competitive Jam: The part of the animation really depends on your event. But bear in mind that you will probably need a high level Jury..

H+4 to H+5: Cleaning and beer...

Okay. It is now time to pack and clean… There more you are, the quicker and the better! As advised earlier: warn your participants ahead, many will join you.

And once everything is done, well it is time to have a good beer together!

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