Member Project

How to Win Game Jams with This One Weird Trick

David Mann

Victory at a game jam can mean different things to different people. David has a decade of experience building games at game jams and will be sharing a special selection of games and his experiences developing them. He’ll cover selecting and grooming a game concept, how to prevent scope creep, and how to work effectively with a team you just met.

Main Presentation

Making Games with Bert and Ernie.

Jeff Tidball

Jeff Tidball is a game writer, designer, and producer, as well as the Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Games. He co-wrote (with Will Hindmarch) Eternal Lies for Trail of Cthulhu, which won an ENnie for Best Adventure. Other designs include the Origins Award–winning pirate coin game Pieces of Eight, the Fantasy Flight Games edition of Horus Heresy, and Doctor Who Time Clash. In marginally related nonsense, he published the social mini-game Band or Album with Kenneth Hite and published The White Box, a game design workshop-in-a-box. Visit Jeff online at jefftidball.com. On Twitter, he’s @jefftidball.

Designing and publishing games requires two kinds of complementary skills. “Bert” skills are deliberate and organizational. “Ernie” skills are expressive and visionary. Learn more about these two approaches, how both are important, and how to avoid killing your counterparts as the process unfolds.

Plug My Thing!

In addition to informal verbal plugs, we’ll also show your trailer, user group, recruitment page, promo video, demo reel, etc. Grab the appropriate ticket – first come, first served.

Guidelines:

• Short and sweet. 3 minutes max!
• Related to games, gaming and or game development in some way. (Exceptions can be made, but please consult us first.)
• 1 short URL, Zero setup (Media is streamable from fast/reliable site like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
• Your Contact info is on page or in video.
• You were a part of this project, are attending the meeting, and will introduce it.
• Meet us in the auditorium at least 5-10 minutes early, so we can load your page.

Agenda (approximate)

6:00 Pizza and drinks (thanks to the Nerdery!) and socialize.
6:30 Meeting starts. Announcements and Plug My Thing!
6:45 Member Project
7:30 Main Presentation

We’ll be heading to Joe Sensers in Bloomington after the event. Come socialize with other local developers.

Many, many thanks to The Nerdery for hosting the IGDA Twin Cities events over the years.

This event is open to the public. An IGDA Membership not required.