Introduction

Welcome to DrinkDevs! An idea that the Dink crew came up with while doing Britain's favourite pastime; having a pint! The jam aims to bring developers together, have a few in the local (Alcohol consumption not mandatory), come up with a dumb game idea and bring that idea to life over a weekend.

The event is hosted by Dink, a small game development studio based in Middlesbrough, in collaboration with Teesside University. Along with support from devs attending from Dink (and more to be announced)!

This jam hopes to be an exciting experience where developers can come together to create an awesome game from a dumb idea within a set timeframe of 48 hours. DrinkDevs is an opportunity for students and industry peeps to work together, or even just get to know one another in their local industry.

With Universities developing top talent in the games sector and a lot of talent coming from local studios, the games made may not end up being just a jam game. With students and industry veterans hanging about, whether in person or on the Discord server (if you haven't joined, you probably should), there are plenty of heads to knock on for advice, feedback, or play testing if you have the time. 

We can't wait to see what everyone creates, just make sure to drink responsibly (even water) and stay safe!

Be sure to join the discord server using the QR code below or alternatively use this link to register your team! 

Theme

(Theme is to be announced with a video on the 25th)

Schedule 

For the most up to date schedule check the discord on the QR code above!

Guidance

Free Pizza

For the showcase event after the jam there will be a chance for the teams to show off all their fantastic work, along with this teams can vote on the pizzas they would like to order which will be provided during game showcases/ awards!

Awards

In partnership with PowerUp & Teesside University we are able to offer some prizes and awards for teams partaking in the jam these will be awarded at the end of the Jam selected by industry professionals from the different studios joining us!

Industry Feedback

We are working with a bunch of the awesome local game studios in the Middlesbrough area some of which have agreed to send over their talented dev teams to come provide valuable feedback and support during the main development day!!

Animex Showcase

We have also managed to secure the opportunity for game submitted during the Jam to be showcased at the Animex festival hosted the following month. This is a great chance to show off the fantastic work Teesside Students are capable of as well as showing everyone your awesome games!

Guidance

Do:

Plan ahead: Come up with a few ideas that might work, you may not know the theme yet but it helps to have a few sketches or game ideas that you want to create.

Collaborate: Game jams are about working in a team to make something together. Make sure you can communicate with your team members and sort out who's doing what.

Get feedback: Game jams are a great way for people to receive feedback from others. Someone might have a different way of doing something that's twice as fast or more optimised, use that to help improve your game.

Focus: You have a limited time to make your game so it's essential to focus on what matters for your game. Make sure you have a solid foundation and try not to feature creep.

Simplicity: Avoid creating overly complicated mechanics that take ages to implement or eat into dev time, the jam is only 48 hours after all!

Self-care: While you may only have 48 hours to make this, Sleep isn't something to shrug off. Make sure that you take breaks, eat, and stay hydrated. It's important to stay healthy and energised to produce the best work possible (no one wants to be exhausted come Monday).

Do Not:

Don't ignore the bigger picture: While everyone loves to have minute detail, don't spend too much time perfecting a tiny thing. Make sure to focus on the game as a whole.

Don't make it too big: Your idea may be sick, but is it going to take a month to develop? Given the time frame, remembering scope is essential. Make sure everyone in your team is on the same page when sorting out your idea (even if after the beers they can't string a sentence together).

Don't forget the theme: Make sure you keep the jam's theme in mind when developing your game. The theme is the main part of the event so it would be a good idea to stick to it. There are also prizes!

Don't be a stranger: Game jams are a collaborative event. It's important to make sure you and your team members are able to create the best version of your game possible. Other teams will also be more than happy to look over code, art or anything else you might want someone's advice on. 

Don't compare yourself: It's easy to see someone else's idea in a game jam and think "I should have done that", but it's important to remember that your own game has potential even if you don't see it.

FAQ

Who owns the games?

You do. You make the game, so it's yours. We don't hold any ownership of the games.

We don't have any (insert job title here), what should we do?

You can use the discord to find people with the skills you're lacking, but if your team is full, use whatever you need to make the game. Get creative, its about having a fun time. As long as its a playable game, make it however you can.

Can I use Asset packs?

Yes you can, provided you read the licences, make sure you are allowed to use them and give credit where it is due. This is your responsibility to check.

I don't have any team members... 

Feel free to come along to the event. We have multiple channels in the discord, Start a thread and ask if anyone is looking for what you are good at or advertise your own team. Or even enter on your own!

Can we use AI?

This might be an odd one, if it helps you... yes. However we do encourage everyone to use as much of their own material as possible. If you do use AI we would ask everyone to let us know in some way how it was used, we encourage creative use so try not to over do it.