The annual Athens Game Jam, organized by the Athens Chapter of the Georgia Game Developers Association, will take place May 15th-17th at the Center for Community Preservation and Design. This unique event invites community members from a broad range of interests and disciplines to conceptualize, design, and build a game based on an assigned theme in a single weekend. Game jammers will gather at the 225 West Broad Street building on Friday at 5pm for a brief orientation, then receive the event theme, form teams, and build a game by 3pm Sunday.

David Ducrest, co-organizer of the Game Jam and member of the Athens GGDA described the intention of the event by saying, “Attending a game jam is hard work and we feel that the shared struggle creates friendships and deepens understanding while compelling people to push harder and develop new ideas. We host the Athens Game Jam to share our skills with the community and learn from others. It promotes a creative community, it generates new partnerships, and it keeps game development exciting.”

Noting that participation in the event is not exclusive to gamers or game developers, and explaining part of the event’s appeal to local students and community members, co-organizer Stephen Borden, also of the Athens GGDA said, “What’s important about making games is that it is very cross discipline. You have to collaborate with people who have different skill sets than you, and that is not always common, unfortunately. A lot of young professionals come out of school with little experience collaborating with people in other fields, and game jams are a great way to get that kind of experience.”

Food is provided for participants during the weekend, and prizes in several categories are awarded to winning teams, thanks in part to donations from local businesses such as Cogent Education, an Athens-based science education technology company, as well as from participants themselves. The weekend culminates with the Game Jam Showcase on Sunday at 3pm, when teams will present the games they created and votes for the winners are cast. The showcase is open to the public, and community members are encouraged to come play the finished games during that time.

More information about the 2015 Athens Game Jam can be found at www.athensgamejam.com. Interested persons can register to participate at www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-athens-game-jam-tickets-16686136684.