Roughly a dozen amateur and professional Nanaimo developers are hard at work testing their skills. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

global game jam

VIDEO: Nanaimo developers crunch to build video games in 48 hours

Feb 1, 2020 | 10:35 AM

NANAIMO — Amateur and professional video game developers in Nanaimo are in crunch mode this weekend.

They’re clustered together developing several video games of their own design over 48 hours for the 2020 Global Game Jam. It’s an international event where developers create something new and expand their skills at the keyboard.

Dozens of developers from the Mid Island Game Developers group are focused and working hard at the Makerspace office in Nanaimo, plugged in and often only going home for sleep.

Nanaimo organizer Mike LeSauvage told NanaimoNewsNOW it’s a great way for budding developers to try something new.

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“I’ve seen lots of people coming away having learned new skills. Some people are making games in a style they’ve never attempted before. You pick one area to try to delve into and make something new out of that.”

The theme this year for games is “repair.” From this keyword, local developers are building a variety of games. One resembles a twist on Tetris while in another you repair relationships between people and communities.

Since starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, LeSauvage said there’s a “quiet energy” among developers.

“People are focused and you need to have that uninterrupted work time. But every so often people need a break and they’ll stand up and respectfully look at other peoples work. They’ll see if someone needs some help and maybe give them a bit of feedback.”

The Global Game Jam finishes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2. Locally developed games will be put online and able to play along side thousands of other games from across the world.

LeSauvage said accessible events like the Global Game Jam are a great way to engage with those who’ve always been interested in developing games.

“Every game developer out there who’s made something good will tell you the way they got good was making 50 bad games. Coming out and having the opportunity to learn from others is the best way to get started.”

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit