WELCOME!

LoJam returns for its 5th year on Saturday October 21st 2023! This amazing week-long game jam aims to help grow the game development scene in London, Ontario and welcomes all who wish to take part, be they beginners, hobbyists, students, or professionals! We're excited to build on the successes of recent years (2022, 2020).

If you haven't already registered to attend, please do so now on our Eventbrite page! Otherwise you can also take part virtually, see below:

VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE

If you weren't able to secure a ticket, or just aren't feeling up to an in-person event, you can also take part from home! Virtual attendees can work individually or in teams, same as in-person guests. Please view the Keynote Zoom recording to hear the theme of this jams submissions. Beginning from the theme announcement you have until 11:00 am Oct. 28th to submit your game to this itch.io page. If you would like to observe any of the workshops, you can also find their Zoom links in our Discord server.

VENUE

TechAlliance -  333 Dufferin Avenue, Unit A, London, ON. N6B 1Z3 [Google Maps]

Please note: no parking available on site. There is metered parking on Dufferin Ave (and surrounding streets), and an underground Impark lot (City Hall - Lot #32) a two minute walk away.

SCHEDULE

For 2023 we're continuing our week-long format (that we piloted in 2022 and received a lot of positive feedback about), which meet over two consecutive Saturdays. Our hope is that this better fits in with everyones busy lives, and also encourages a less crunch-like approach to game dev, as the wider industry is moving to support better work-life balance. So here's how we've broken it down for this year:

Saturday October 21st:

Day One will primarily be for coming together, forming teams, hearing about the theme and developing an initial concept (we also hope to offer some drop-in sessions from industry mentors throughout the afternoon). After which you'll have a full week to work on your games, at whatever times and locations best suit you! Note: for those who still want the challenge of building something in under 48 hours, we'll keep a separate prize category just for you! Detailed breakdown:

• 10:00 AM - Doors open! Arrive and setup your stations, meet and greet other jammers, form teams if you haven't already! Coffee and pastries provided.
• 11:00 AM - Keynote address, message from our sponsors, and theme reveal.
• 12:00 PM - Catered lunch – pizzas and sodas, plus fresh fruit and vegetables!
  
• 12:30 PM - Portrait Studio – Get a professional résumé / LinkedIn profile photo taken for free! (until 2:00 PM)
  
• 1:00 PM - Drop-in Session 1: "Game Planning and Prototyping in the Industry" with Jim Leedham
• 2:00 PM - Drop-in Session 2: "Intro to Shaders" with Cole Sweet
• 3:00 PM - Drop-in Session 3: "Making do as a Solo dev" with Ethan Biswurm
• 4:00 PM - Drop-in Session 4: "To Create or Not To Create your own Game Engine" with Dustin Clark
• 6:00 PM - End of Day One

Saturday October 28th:

Day Two will be more for showing off your games! We'll still begin with our typical Showcase event during which each team can present their games, but after that everyone will have plenty of time to grab some lunch and wander around and play-test one another's games and give feedback. We'll also have some guest judges from the games industry giving feedback too, after which we'll present prizes! Detailed breakdown:

• 10:00 AM - Doors open! Catered breakfast – coffee and pastries. Come and setup your demo area.
• 11:00 AM - Showcase in the main room. Each team will present their game trailer and talk about what they made, why they made it, and the challenges/lessons learned along the way.
• 12:30 PM - Catered lunch
• 1:00 PM - Play-test session begins, meet and chat with other teams/developers, play their games and provide feedback!
• 3:00 PM - Prize giving and Closing Ceremonies
• 4:00 PM - End of LoJam 2023 - Wrap party at Crabby Joes Bar & Grill - 276 Dundas St, London, ON N6B 1T6 [Google Maps]

THEME

"Growth"

RULES

You're welcome to use any tools / technologies / game engines you wish, but all assets (code, art and sound) should be created during the game jam (or else should be credited and disclosed on your submission page and during the showcase and play-test session)! Also, be respectful of your fellow jammers - no harassment or divisive behaviour.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

One person from each team should create a submission page for their game through this itch.io portal (and each non-submitting team member should register themselves as a co-contributor on their team's page) 

You should give your team (and your game!) a name, a description, and please upload at least a screenshot, but ideally a short screen recording of it in action! Consider this your 'gameplay trailer'. We recommend using a free tool such as OBS Studio or FRAPS to perform the screen recording - our volunteers can guide you through this if necessary - but please no longer than 3 minutes! This video will play during the showcase event. Remember, all the other jammers will get a chance to play your game, but this is your chance to 'hook them' and encourage them to come check it out during the play-test session! So be sure to include every aspect of your game that you want to show off!

If you also wish to upload a playable (or downloadable) version of your game that is great! But not required. Any questions about this process please ask one of our volunteers.

PRIZES

We have some amazing prizes to give out this year, including:

• 2 tickets to XP Summit 2024 in Toronto!
• $100 gift certificate to the  The Mana Lounge 
• Steam gift cards
• An awesome selection of Xbox games and merch!
• Some amazing Unity goodies!

And we have multiple prize categories: 

1. Judge's Choice (Games Industry) - Decided by a panel of games industry veterans
   
   1. First Place Winner: cherry pit
   2. Second Place Winner: Smudge
   3. Third Place Winner: Dark Harvest
2. People's Choice - Voted for by every jammer during the final showcase, this is the game that receives the highest overall score for all areas combined! With separate prizes for each of these sub-categories:
   1. Made in under 48 Hours
      1. Winner: Arise
   2. Made in a Week
      
      1. First Place Winner: Behanded
         
      2. Second Place Winner: Bee Game
      3. Third Place Winner: Battle Bees

GENERAL ADVICE

• Pre-install any large tools / technologies / game engines onto your machine before the event 
• Get plenty of rest the night before! 
• Take plenty of breaks - your schedule is entirely your own!
• Connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Discord
• Most importantly, have fun! 

SPONSORS

We wouldn't be able to run LoJam without the amazing support of our sponsors! 

TechAlliance / Digital Extremes / XP Game Developer Summit / Microsoft / Unity  / Doom Turtle / The Mana Lounge /