Bradley University students will participate in Global Game Jam (GGJ) 2012, the world’s largest game jam event, for the first time this year.

The 48-hour event starts at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27, and ends at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday in the Caterpillar Global Communications Center, located at 834 N. Duryea. Students will work in teams of 3-5 people to develop a game from start to finish. Though many choose to design and develop digital games, participants also can choose to create a board game, card game, or other type of game. On Friday, participants will be given the game theme set by global jam organizers. Alumni and instructors will be available to assist participants with the various stages of game development such as design, art, sound, and programming.

The first Game Jam event was held in 2009. Last year, teams in 44 countries participated and, over the course of one weekend, created more than 1,500 games. The event brings together thousands of game enthusiasts participating through many local jams around the world. Global Game Jam is a project of the International Game Developers Association.

The Bradley event is coordinated by the University’s Video Game Design Club, the Department of Interactive Media and the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems.