3rd Klagenfurt Game Jam

From April 15th until the 17th, the 3rd Klagenfurt Game Jam will happen. Klagenfurt is an Austrian city and gathers people who likes games and wants to create, test and talk about them.



What is a game jam? It is a gathering of game developers for the purpose of planning, designing, and creating one or more games within a short span of time, usually ranging between 24 and 72 hours. Game developers are generally made up of programmers, game designers, artists, and others in game development-related fields. The term “game jam” is a composition of the words “game” and “jam session”.

Starting on Friday, the topic will be revealed to all participants at the same time and random groups will brainstorm games. Then, after the ideas are pitched, the teams will emerge around ideas and games will be created. Finally, on Sunday, the projects are presented to a jury and the most awesome project will be awarded with a prize.

Parallel to the game jam, there will be lectures about the gaming universe. With great honor, I would like to share that I was invited to give a lecture about game design process and business model. I’ll talk about my new game ROCK FLICKZ developed by SIOUX, the keynote is entitled “The Rock Flickz Case - using a mobile game for music advertising, entertainment and business model”. Looking forward for this great meeting!



Click here for the official site and here for the complete program.

#GoGamers

LIFELINE

LIFELINE (3 Minutes Games, 2015) is a mobile text-based game focused on a narrative with a very simple gameplay. Written by Dave Justus, the plot is about an astronaut (Taylor) trying to survive in a strange place after a spaceship accident. To survive, he needs your help to take some decisions inside a claustrophobic alien ambient.



The gameplay is always based in two decisions presented to the player in the end of certain speeches from the astronaut. The idea of “decision trees” (that we have already discussed here) is the interaction’s core inside the gaming universe. The astronaut will always offer two options to the player to continue the history with different outcomes. The image below shows the main idea of the gameplay:



But, beyond the very immersive narrative, that game has a very different component: the real time between astronaut’s actions. In some moments in the story, it’s possible to ask the astronaut, for example, to climb a mountain. The game stops and after 3 hours (the time Taylor took to climb the mountain) he starts a new part of the narrative. So, many decisions in the game are affected by these kinds of choices.

To understand the game better, check the official trailer below:



In a time full of complex games, it’s very good to find some elegant and simple game design based in a good narrative.

#GoGamers