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Game Jam The Documentary: check out this link for more info on how to contribute!

http://www.indiegogo.com/Game-Jam-The-Documentary

Our Story

I attended my first game jam without knowing what to expect, only that I would meet some new people and create audio for a few games. Working on sound design for games, I was curious to see the process a developer goes through while creating one. That quickly changed as I was the only sound floater that showed up…and my first jam literally turned into a 72-hour trial of my skills. I surpassed even my own expectations, so much so that I was one of a few people asked to talk about their TOJam experience at the Toronto IGDA Post Mortem event.

After that hurricane weekend I had purged myself of any doubt, not only in my abilities, but on a personal level & socially; I had finally found the group of people I had been missing in my life. I was quite literally a changed man. Immediately my personal and business life followed suit. D.A.R.C. Productions Inc., the company I co-operate with my friend Ryan Cox, turned its full attention towards indie game development & started creating professional audio at a cost that make sense for Indie Game Developers budgets. D.A.R.C. began attending, volunteering and donating to many local community events. This culminated in January 2012 when I co-organized the Toronto Chapter of the Global Game Jam with Randy Orenstein.

About a week and a half before GGJ, I woke up at about 4 in the morning with the idea of filming the event. After talking to Jackson Main, a friend who is a writer that works in film and television, we came up with the idea to follow 4 separate teams to document their experiences at the game jam. The footage we captured during this event portrays a strong community and tells a story of determination, perseverance and creativity through teams as diverse as the games they were making. Delving deeper into the experience of game jams, we have already interviewed almost 30 jammers to gather further insight into this hobby and the community surrounding them. We’ve set up interviews during GDC 2012 with jammers from all parts of the globe, the people who founded IGF & the community who have embraced this pastime.

Game Jam is a documentary about people & their experiences while creating games under extreme pressure.

Director/Producer/Editor – Troy Morrissey. DOP/Producer – Ryan Cox. Composer – Matthew Reid. Cameraman - Jackson Main. Cameraman – Chad Kerzwill. Grip – Brandan Mitchell 

Game Jammers in the Film 

Michael Todd-Happy Little Smile Games, Jim & Em McGinley-TOJam/Bigpants Games, Robert Segal-Get Set Games/TOJam, Mare Sheppard & Raigan Burns-Metanet Software, Alex Bethke & Andrew Traviss-Golden Gear Games, Emily Clair Afan-CIAC, Jon Remedios-Righteous Dude, Jason P. Kaplan-Game Prototype Challenge, Zoe Quinn & Cale Bradbury-OMGbees, Matt Hammill-creator of Gesundheit!, Miguel Sternberg-Spooky Squid Games, Chris Hecker-Indie Game Jam, Gorm Lai-Global Game Jam, Ian Schreiber-Global Game Jam, Martin Jonasson-No More Sweden, Koji Mikami-Global Game Jam Japan, Christer Kaitila-The Game Jam Survival Guide, Alex Schwartz-Owlchemy Lab, Mike Kasprzak-Lundum Dare/Sykhronics Entertainment and many many many more!

 

The Impact

I always tell people that game jams are like sweat lodges for game developers but, truth be told, the experience is different for every single jammer. I can never truly convey the experience of a game jam with words. It really is a momentous thing that one needs to experience to fully comprehend. My hope is to capture the essence of that experience in this documentary, to open strangers minds to the positivity, creativity & passion of game developers, and reveal what a community can achieve in a single weekend of collaboration. 

I could make this film locally and tell the tale of the gaming community in Toronto, but that really isn’t telling the story of game jams. For an accurate portrayal of game jams, jammers around the world need to have their voices heard in this film. 

 

What We Need & What You Get

The footage we captured of the Toronto Global Game Jam and interviews with local jammers turned out beautifully. So much so that I want to bring a small film crew with me to GDC to make certain I can keep with the films quality. I need $4,500 to pay for return flights, lodging and meals for the film crew. 
We will be filming interviews with game developers from all over the world at this years Game Developers Conference March 5-9, 2012. Attending GDC will also enable us to promote the film and build support from the community the world over. It will also help to promote the documentary while at the conference by having a proper film crew working on this project. 

Some of the perks we are offering include posters, digital and physical copies of the film, GJD T-Shirts & GJD Hoodies.
D.A.R.C. Productions Inc. is all about promoting indie game developers & have recently started putting together promotional packages for local Toronto Indies. We are offering a perk on the “Support Your Local Game Developer” portion of the Game Jam Documentary website. This perk will include a short biography, company logo and video of your projects. We will work with you to get this put together.

Another reward we are offering for game developers is the opportunity to have me fly to your city and film a one on one interview with you and document your personal experience at a game jam to be used in the film. This personal encounter I think is essential to telling the real story of game jams.

Game Jams are massive events, and this is something that people outside the gaming community have never really peered into. As a maybe overly ambitious perk we will fly to your game jam and document your cities story. Not only will this be used in Game Jam The Documentary film, but we will create a complete trailer of your game jam for you to own.

Any additional funds raised with this campaign will go towards traveling the world, over the next year, to film different game jams for the documentary. We will be looking to film in the cities that contribute the most funding, along with some remote locations, this way we can more accurately document the diversity of game jams

Other Ways You Can Help

This story is not mine alone, it is about everyone involved in the gaming community. It is for everyone who wants the world to know we are not the stereotype portrayed by television. This story is for anyone that’s ever been asked, “What’s a Game Jam?” This story is about the evolution of indie game development and ALL of the people who eat, breath and sleep games.


This is your story, and in order to do it justice I need your help to spread the word around the world…so we can better promote games and gaming culture!

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