AIE Global Game Jam in Lafayette creates Fire and Water: A Love Story

The Academy of Interactive Entertainment LITE Center in Lafayette was buzzing all weekend with a team of student game designers participating in the 2012 Global Game Jam.

The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is a project of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and takes place in hundreds of locations around the world. It occurs annually every January and while last year there was a Jam in New Orleans at UNO, this year the only event in Louisiana was held in Lafayette.

According to the GGJ website, attendance is typically 5-25 people per Jam, usually students with assistance from professional game developers. Teams gather on Friday afternoon, watch a short video keynote with advice from leading game developers, and then a secret theme is announced.

Groups are then challenged to complete a game based on the announced theme by Sunday afternoon. The theme for the Jam this weekend was presented visually:

2012 Global Game Jam Theme

AIE also has campuses in Seattle, WA where they hosted a simultaneous Jam. The two campuses communicated via Skype over the weekend with each other and the AIE international campus. The groups kept a combined Tumblr blog updated over the weekend with their progress.

The final product of the Lafayette Jam is called “Fire and Water: A Love Story.” The game includes fully hand drawn graphics (by crayola) graphics and was built in HTML5. Read more about it and download the game files by clicking here.