Brisbane Global Game Jam is BACK for 2024!

We are very pleased to announce that the Brisbane venue for the very wonderful Global Game Jam is back for the weekend of January 26th – January 28th.

Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world’s largest game creation event taking place around the globe boasting tens of thousands of participants (jammers) at hundreds of physical and virtual sites in over one hundred countries around the world. In January 2020, GGJ had a record-breaking year with 934 locations in 118 countries create 9,601 games in one weekend! The event has grown even more since that time and we are very proud to be part of it!

After a rather wonderful hybrid local Brisbane event in 2023, we are BACK! BACK! BACK!

We offer two options for registration:

Global Game Jam welcomes participants of all abilities – the jam is about enjoying making games together! We welcome both analogue and digital game makers as well as anyone who just wants to experiment and play with the form.

The Brisbane venue is an 18+ site. It is open for 24 hours but is not a ‘sleep over’ site. Come with a team or find folks to create with on-site. You can read more about our venue on our official Global Game Jam site (but please note the page redirects back to this post for registration). We recommend pre-organised teams choose either physical (on-site) or virtual via Discord (unless you have experience working together remotely).

Discussion and Updates: BrisbaneGGJ facebook page

Brisbane GGJ 2024 Placeholder Banner

Brisbane Global Game Jam is BACK!

Brisbane Global Game Jam Date Claimer and Heads-up!

The Global Game Jam® (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam event (game creation) taking place around the world at physical (and virtual) locations over the same weekend! GGJ is a seriously fun event with big community vibes. Joining a site is about an adventure in game making (digital, analogue, whatever) and creativity. 

The Brisbane site for Global Game Jam is Back! We will be running a 48 hour site for the main weekend of the Global Game Jam from Friday February 3rd – Sunday February 5th

We are running a hybrid event this year. We have a physical venue with limited spaces and a virtual site via Discord. Register with friends and a pre-made team or come along and join a team during the event.

Please note: The Brisbane GGJ is an over 18 site. Our venues are open late but we are not a sleep over site. 

Registration Sites are now OPEN:

Registration is individual so if you have a team please be sure to organise everyone – and make sure your team members register via the correct site. We will be sending out participation details on January 27th.

Important: GGJ is a completely BYO computer and tech event (e.g. computers, monitors, power cables etc.)

* Registration via Discord will involve you in agreeing to our Discord server expectations about behaviour, rules and protocols. You will also be asked if we can use public aspects of your activity in the jam as (anonymous) data for a community research project. Don’t worry if you don’t want to – you will have the opportunity to ask that your data is anonymised or not used.

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Thank you everyone!

That was a wonderful GO423 thanks to everyone who came along an showed off their beauty games or ran a workshop or mentored like fury in the Emerging Developer’s Room … It was so wonderful to see everyone – <3 the Brisbane game dev community!

Especial thanks go to Dan Vogt and the brave noble teams who risked reputation in the grand Loot Crate Battle.

And the biggest hug to Liz Ballantyne who was the energy and support for so much this year!

Some of my usual rubbish photos from the day …..

GO423 2021

GO423 is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Screen Culture Funding program. 

What’s in the exhibition? Check out the Mosquito Foyer – aka Analog Alley

As always, we love our board and tabletop games at #GO423. Not only do we have the ever astounding Half Monster Games running a ‘Make your own board game‘ workshop but that same team will be showing off Xenohunters in the Mosquito Foyer!

We also have a card game from Mirror Forge and a tile game from Daniel Galbraith! Martin Wallace reckons he is just going to come and hang this year but who knows what he might bring along.

Come and play the games and chat with our awesome game makers.

More information about attending GO423 via the Brisbane Powerhouse page

Brisbane Powerhouse Mosquito Foyer

GO423 is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Screen Culture Funding program.

GO423 – Emerging developer room

Are you an emerging developer, game design student, or solo dev who would love to chat with an industry mentor?  

Do you have a portfolio or resume, but you have no idea whether it would get you work in the industry? Come along to the Emerging Developer Room to meet some of our local experienced game developers, receive answers to your questions, and meet some of our awesome Queensland game makers.

Mentor session 1: 11am – 1pm

Mentor session 2: 3pm – 5pm

An update on the Emerging Developer’s room is that our adored hosting venue has relaxed the registration requirements and told us folks can just rock up – aim for either a morning or afternoon session and our lovely volunteers will be on hand to help … I think it was a decision made because there are lots of lovely games to go and play while folks are waiting!

GO423 2019 – Turbine platform with Zed Games running the hot seat on stage and a glimpse of the Emerging Dev room up on the mezzanine level. Photo by Iain Anderson @funwithstuff

What else is happening at GO423?

GO423 2021 – date claimer

GO423 2021 will (hopefully and all things Covid willing of course) be taking place on Saturday November 13th at our always wonderful venue – the Brisbane Powerhouse!

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GO423 2021 will feature some wonderful locally made games in the exhibition – as usual we have a mix of PC, console, mobile and analogue. Come and join us to play the games and chat with the amazing devs who made them.

2021 will also see the return of our popular workshops, the emerging developers room and our very favorite Loot Crate Debate.

Watch this space for updates

GO423 is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Screen Culture Funding program

GO423 2021- Call for games

PRESENTED BY BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BRISBANE POWERHOUSE


LATEST UPDATE: AND YET ANOTHER DATE CHANGE

Due to circumstances (and hopefully a better option) AND of course subject to the sudden shifts of these days, we have had to postpone the festival. At the moment we are hoping for a spring date and have booked Saturday November 13 at the Brisbane Powerhouse

Fingers crossed – meanwhile stay safe everyone and keep making those games!

Call for EOI* – As usual, we hope to display a range of games made locally in the GO423 exhibition at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Do you have a game to show off?

We love to see:

Completed games – published and already out there
Works in progress – ready to play test or pre-release
Play experiments – something you have made that explores the possibilities of the medium

And all things in between! Digital and Analog formats are welcome.

GOOGLE FORM

This EOI will now stay open until at least September!

*Please note:. The GO423 Exhibition is a BYO equipment event. This is an expression of interest only, space is limited and these are precarious times. Please give us enough information so we can consider your game and ensure a valid contact email in case we need to get in touch.

Emerging Developer Room @ #GO423

Are you an emerging developer, game design student, or solo dev who would love to chat with an industry mentor?* Are you in need of headshots for your work, but unable to afford it?* Do you have a portfolio or resume, but you have no idea whether it would get you work in the industry?

Are you an emerging developer, game design student, or solo dev who would love to chat with an industry mentor?* Are you in need of headshots for your work, but unable to afford it?* Do you have a portfolio or resume, but you have no idea whether it would get you work in the industry?

Come along to the Emerging Developer Room to meet some of our local experienced game developers, receive answers to your questions, and grab a headshot for your social media and future speaking engagements all in one place!

Mentor session 1: 11am – 1pm
Mentor session 2: 3pm – 5pm
Headshots available: 1pm – 5pm

What to bring:* Your resume, CV, portfolio, game design documents, or anything you’d like to chat with these mentors about.* Your pre-prepared questions, so you can make sure you’re getting exactly the information you’re looking for.
No registration required!

Hosted by Queerly Represent Me

GO423 grand finale: Loot Crate Debate

Join our local industry veterans John Passfield and Dan Vogt as they host a panel of local developers and a “Lucky Dip Debate’ which invites the panelists to take turns drawing a topic from the loot crate and gives them 2 minutes to argue about it in a quick-fire debate session!

5.00 – 6.00pm on the Turbine Platform at #GO423

Feat. guest panelists:

Raven Stark, Jeff Van Dyck, Mel Taylor, Lee May, Wren Brier and Jack Crinji
… And of course, your hosts Dan and John!

GO423 2019 Celebrating Damsel: Cause Distress!

A very special invite. Damsel will be on show in the #GO423 exhibition and will be celebrated super warmly as our special networking event heroine at the end of the day!

Damsel was always going to be a change for Screwtape Studios as our development prior had been on Mobile Games. We as developers always aspired to create something bigger.The game began production almost 5 years ago and we wouldn’t be here today without the hard work and support of so many people. From the talented people who came on board our small team to help bring Damsel to life, to the Brisbane Game Dev community, that has always been a massive source of support and inspiration, to Screen Queensland who funded the final development period. Damsel started in a hotel room at Melbourne Games week 5 years ago with only 2 people and is now finally released on Xbox One and Switch. When we began, we didn’t know what a wild ride it would be, from learning how to put a team together, to finding new ways to fund the game, not all of which worked out smoothly. We found our way however and couldn’t be happier to celebrate with the Brisbane Game Dev community the release of Damsel on console at GO423. So please join us for a drink and a celebration of hard work and community!