The project’s mission is also to gather funds for the fight against Covid-19.
Read the Romanian Press Release HERE.
Bucharest, 15 April 2020 – During 28 April – 2 May „Homemade Jam” will take place, an online Game Jam supported by the Romanian game developers community, to create www.jamdecasa.ro, the biggest online platform for family friendly free Romanian games and to gather funds for the fight against Covid-19. The project was initiated by GameDev Academy and is supported by RGDA – Romanian Game Developers Association, Game Heroes and RGD. Starting with 14th of April, the Game Jam is open for registration to Romanians, of all ages, experience or technical knowledge. All those registered will have the chance to make a family friendly experimental video game or board game.
“I recommend everybody to try this experience, it is a great opportunity for those who do not work in the game development industry to get involved. We want as many Romanians to participate in this Game Jam, even people who have never developed a game before, children, parents, regardless of profession or age, it is an energizing creative exercise. We will add on www.jamdecasa.ro a list of tutorials and websites with tips & tricks on how to create a game. For people who do not have technical/programming skills, they can try to develop board games.
”Homemade Jam” offers to those passionate about game development the opportunity to alleviate this crisis generated by Covid-19 through their passion: more precisely, by creating a game in 72 hours, which will be part of the largest online library with free family friendly Romanian games. Since the Game Jam is digital, they will make the game from their own homes, however they won’t do it alone, but, hopefully, with dozens or even hundreds of other experienced developers. Also, if there are studios that want to donate to the www.jamdecasa.ro platform family friendly games which were previously developed and which can be made available for free, we invite them to do so.”, mentioned Andrei Istrate, founder of GameDev Academy, creator of GameDev Radio and the initiator of the „Homemade Jam” project.
The terms & conditions for participation, the steps to follow and news about the Game Jam will be updated on www.jamdecasa.ro. Registrations for the Game Jam are already open and free of charge. Entries can be made individually or as a team. The participation criteria will be minimal, so that almost anyone can get involved, regardless of age, profession or experience.
Based on a theme to be announced at the beginning of the Game Jam on the 28th of April at 8:00 pm, those enrolled in the project will have 72 hours to develop a family friendly game, which will be finally published on www.jamdecasa.ro. The games will be tested by GameDev Academy teachers and will be presented to the general public in a live Charity Stream which will be held on the 4th of May, at 8:00 pm on „Homemade Jam” project website. During the live streaming which will be transmitted simultaneously through GameDev Radio and the social media channels of the project, donations can be made by anyone who wishes to support the project, be it an individual or a company. The final amount will be fully donated to a hospital or a NGO that supports the efforts of doctors in the fight against Covid-19. The beneficiaries of the amount collected through donations will be announced in the following period on www.jamdecasa.ro.
„We expect an enthusiastic mobilization from our community, both in terms of developing a high number of games and in terms of the amounts of money that will be donated to improve the situation in hospitals during this period. We have a community of game developers very connected and eager to help with their own resources and through their own creativity. There are over 100 game development studios in Romania, gathering more than 6000 professionals. The interest in this field grows from year to year and this makes us believe that we will see more and more beautiful projects developed in Romania within this Game Jam but also in the future.”, mentioned Andreea Medvedovici-Per, RGDA Executive Director.
About GameDevAcademy
GameDevAcademy is the only center in Romania that offers professional courses in the field of game development. Supported by industry developers, the courses are aimed specifically at those at the beginning of the road, eager to start a career in the video games industry.
www.gamedevacademy.ro
About Game Heroes
Game Heroes is a non-profit organization that organizes events for the game development industry, such as Game Jams. Game Heroes has been organizing events in Romania for 5 years, the most famous annual events being Bucharest Global Game Jam and Bucharest Global Game Jam Next.
https://www.facebook.com/gameheroes.eu/
About RGD
RGD is the largest online game development community in Romania. The RGD Discord Channel was created as a place where developers can communicate without restrictions, help each other, share ideas, needs, and successes.
https://discord.gg/Td6Fsj9
About RGDA
Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support and promote the Romanian video game developers market into making them more successful and profitable on the internal and international market.
www.rgda.ro