One of the most anticipated annual events for any game developer, Global Game Jam is the largest game creation marathon in the world with over tens of thousands of participants (also known as jammers) from over one hundred countries around the world.
The game jam, which is structured similarly to a hackathon, takes place over 48 hours where game developers around the world come together to create games inspired by a central theme. In this shortened development cycle, jammers are encouraged to explore new technology tools, try on new roles in development, and generally step outside of their comfort zone in a safe and welcoming environment.
From 26th to 28th January 2024, we were honoured to attend the 14th Global Game Jam here in Malaysia organised by GamesHQ and IGDA Malaysia. This time, with a record-breaking three game jam sites: Xsolla in Bangsar South, UOW Malaysia in Glenmarie, and UPSI in Tanjung Malim. This was the first year Global Game Jam Malaysia was held outside of Kuala Lumpur, and also the first year where tabletop game designers were welcome to jam alongside the rest!
After the global theme was announced on Friday evening — this year’s theme was “Make Me Laugh” — the jammers gathered in their respective locations for the next two days to build their games. Basic accommodation and meals were provided to the jammers courtesy of the site partners, with many of the groups opting to stay overnight or pull all-nighters to make the best game possible.
On top of fulfilling the global theme, Global Game Jam Malaysia also had two special challenges for jammers who registered in preformed teams. They could either base their game on ChatGPT, through asking the program what type of game to make based on the global prompt; or they could base their game on a Video Game Name Generator, which they could use to generate three names before deciding on one final concept.
For veteran jammers looking for a challenge, they were also encouraged to take on the GGJ 2024 Diversifiers. The diversifiers are optional constraints that jammers can add to their games, ranging from additional prompts like “Never Give Up”, to using the “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse in their games. However, teams can only choose up to four diversifiers for their final submission.
After an intense 48 hours, the game jam came to a close on Sunday afternoon with 56 submissions from 237 jammers across Malaysia. At the Xsolla site, a showcase was held in front of a panel of mentors including Shawn Beck from Weyrdworks, Sabine Ong from Metronomik, and Mohan Low from MDEC.
One of the groups was Team Blåhaj, the youngest group to join Global Game Jam Malaysia this year, made up of high schoolers aged 13 to 16 years old. Their game was a pixel RPG called Clown Catastrophe. A wide variety of genres were showcased including rhythm games, roguelikes, bullet hell, and even tabletop games created by the jammers. If you want to check out the games yourself, you can download and play them here:
- Xsolla Jam Site:
https://globalgamejam.org/group/333/games - UOW Jam Site: https://globalgamejam.org/group/367/games
- UPSI Jam Site: https://globalgamejam.org/group/581/games
After spending the weekend at Global Game Jam Malaysia, one thing is clear: the future of the game development scene is bright! We’re honoured to be supporting efforts like Global Game Jam that serve as a stepping stone for countless aspiring game developers. Here’s to more in the future, and we hope to see some of these familiar faces in the Malaysian games industry in the coming years!
Stay tuned for even more Global Game Jam Malaysia coverage and exclusive interviews on our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
