Game jams are the best thing in game development that costs almost nothing. You show up (physically or virtually), form a team, and build a game in 48 hours. It sounds insane, and it kind of is. It’s also one of the fastest ways to learn game development, meet other developers, and build a portfolio.

Australia has a healthy game jam scene. Global Game Jam has sites in every major Australian city. IGDA chapters run local jams throughout the year. University programs host their own events. Online jams on itch.io welcome participants from anywhere.

Here’s how to make the most of them.

Before the jam

Pick the right jam for your experience level. If it’s your first jam, choose one with a physical site in your city. Being in the same room as your team eliminates the coordination overhead of remote collaboration. Global Game Jam (usually late January) and your local IGDA chapter’s events are good starting points.

Decide your role before you arrive. Are you a programmer? An artist? A designer? A musician? A writer? Game jams need all of these. If you’re a generalist, pick the role you’re most confident in and commit to it.

Prepare your tools. Have your development environment set up and tested. If you’re using Unity or Godot, have the engine installed and a fresh project created. If you’re doing art, have your software ready. Don’t spend the first three hours of a 48-hour jam installing software.

Set expectations. You will not make a perfect game. You will not make a complete game. You will make a thing that demonstrates an idea, and that thing will have bugs, placeholder art, and at least one feature that got cut at 2am on day two. This is fine. This is the point.

During the jam

Scope ruthlessly. The number one killer of jam games is over-scoping. When the theme is announced and your team starts brainstorming, everyone will have ambitious ideas. Your job is to find the smallest possible version of the best idea.

A good jam game has one core mechanic, one level or scenario, and takes two to three minutes to play. That’s it. Everything else is stretch goals that you’ll probably never reach.

Prototype the core mechanic first. Before art, before sound, before menus — get the core mechanic working with placeholder assets. If the mechanic isn’t fun with grey boxes and no audio, it won’t be fun with polished art either.

Communicate constantly. If you’re working with people you just met (which is normal at jams), over-communicate. Share what you’re working on, ask questions early, and flag blockers immediately. Forty-eight hours is too short for miscommunication.

Sleep. I know. You’re excited. You want to keep working. Sleep anyway. Minimum four hours on the first night. Your work quality between hours 16 and 24 of being awake is terrible, and the bugs you introduce while exhausted will cost you more time than sleeping would have.

Eat real food. Jam sites usually have pizza and energy drinks. Eat the pizza, but also bring some actual food. Your brain runs on glucose and protein, not Red Bull.

The submission

Submit something. Even if it’s incomplete, buggy, and you’re embarrassed by it. A submitted jam game is infinitely more valuable than an unsubmitted perfect idea. The act of finishing and shipping — even something rough — teaches you more than any other single experience in game development.

Write a good description. On the jam page, explain what your game is about, how to play it, and what the team’s roles were. Screenshots or a short GIF make a huge difference in whether anyone actually downloads and plays your game.

Include credits. Everyone on the team should be credited by name and role. This is their portfolio piece too.

After the jam

Play other teams’ games. This is the most underrated part of game jams. Playing thirty jam games in an evening teaches you more about game design than a semester of classes. You’ll see ideas that are brilliant and execution that’s terrible, and vice versa. Both are instructive.

Get feedback and give feedback. Comment on other games. Be specific and constructive. “I liked how the jump felt” is better than “cool game.” And read the feedback on your own game carefully — it’s free playtesting data.

Add the game to your portfolio. A jam game is a legitimate portfolio piece. It demonstrates that you can work on a team, under pressure, and ship something. Clean up the itch.io page, add screenshots, and link to it from your portfolio site.

Consider polishing it. Some excellent games started as jam prototypes. Celeste began as a PICO-8 jam game. If your jam game has a strong core idea, spending a few weeks polishing it into a proper release is a worthwhile exercise.

Finding jams in Australia

• Global Game Jam (January): The biggest annual jam. Sites in all major Australian cities.
• Ludum Dare (multiple times per year): Online-only, individual or team.
• IGDA Australia chapter jams: Check your local IGDA chapter’s events calendar.
• University jams: Open to the public more often than you’d think. Check RMIT, QUT, UTS, and Swinburne event listings.
• itch.io jam calendar: Hundreds of online jams running constantly.

Game jams are where the Australian game development community is at its best — collaborative, creative, and supportive. If you have any interest in making games, participating in a jam is the single best first step you can take.