At Tech Valley Game Space, we believe that the act of game creation can and should be accessible for everybody. Our goal is to help each person in the Capital Region make at least one game at some point in their life.
Today, we take another step toward that goal with the announcement of #include, a new series of diversity-oriented game development events that TVGS will be hosting on an ongoing basis. Our first installment in the #include series is River Jam – a free, “learn to make a game in 48 hours” event tailored for first time game makers who identify as women.
The River Jam kickoff will coincide with River Fest in Troy (Saturday, June 20th), and the event will run throughout the entire weekend of the 20th-21st. The jam will be held at The Arts Center of the Capital Region, located at 265 River Street in Troy, and will provide participants with the opportunity to work alone or in teams to create a game while receiving support and guidance from professional game developers and other experienced mentors.
We are also pleased to be partnering with The Arts Center to offer an instructional workshop on the weekend prior to River Jam (June 13th-14th). Attendance at this workshop is not required in order to participate in River Jam, but it is highly recommended for anyone wishing to get a head start on learning how to bring their game ideas to life.
More information about River Jam and #include can be found below. If you have any questions about how you can get involved, either as a participant or as a mentor, please send them to info@techvalleygamespace.com. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP via either Facebook or Meetup.
About River Jam:
The first event in the #include series will be River Jam – a free, 48 hour “game jam” that will be held at The Arts Center in Troy starting on the same day as River Fest (Saturday, June 20th) and continuing throughout the weekend. The jam will also be preceded by an optional “intro to game development” workshop that will take place over the prior weekend (June 13th-14th), also at The Arts Center.
While the jam is open to all participants, the primary goal for this event is to encourage first time game makers who identify as women to sign up. As such, participants that meet this criteria will be given priority in the event that spaces are limited. If you are able to bring your own laptop, please do so! We have a finite supply of desktops available for the event, and once these are claimed we will only be able to accommodate more participants if they are able to provide their own machines.
Dates and times:
- Intro to Game Development Workshop – June 13th & 14th, 9am-4pm @ The Arts Center of the Capital Region (not required to participate in River Jam)
- River Jam – June 20th & 21st, 9am-9pm @ The Arts Center of the Capital Region
Mentors Wanted!
If you are a local game developer or someone with experience in a related field (programmer, artist, designer, musician, etc.) and you have a few hours that you’d be willing to contribute toward volunteering as a mentor during the weekend of June 20th-21st, please volunteer using the mentor sign up sheet in order to let us know you’re interested. Once you have signed up using the online form, we will get in contact with you to provide further details on how you can get involved with River Jam.
About #include:
#include is a series of diversity-focused, creative events hosted by Tech Valley Game Space that are intended to support aspiring game makers in the Capital Region. The goal of the #include initiative is to provide regular, local classes and game jams targeted toward groups that continue to be underrepresented within the game development community, in order to demystify the process of digital game creation and make it more accessible and welcoming for everyone.
At TVGS, we believe that a more diverse and nurturing game development community is also a more sustainable one. There is a vital need for new voices within the game development space, and our mission is to help address that need by providing support and mentorship for creative people that are interested in developing new artistic and technical skills that they can then reinvest back into the local community.
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