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Peterborough, Ontario – February 13, 2017 – Remember that stomach-churning excitement you experienced as a kid as the days counted down to Christmas? So it is this week for game developers, seasoned and novice, as the days quickly count down to PTBO Game Jam 02.
With the theme Alternative Facts, the semi-annual not-for-profit celebration of all things game development will be staged Friday, February 17 through Sunday, February 19 – PTBO Game Jam Weekend as proclaimed by the City of Peterborough – at Fleming College’s Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre, 559 Brealey Drive in Peterborough.
Hosted by Peterborough-based game development studio dotBunny, PTBO Game Jam 02 will see game programmers, designers, artists and others involved in game-development disciplines gather to plan, design and create games in a specified time frame. Their work will be reviewed by a judging panel with up to four $500 cash prizes awarded to teams and individuals.
PTBO Game Jam 02 also presents an event-opening Educational Block on Friday, February 17, starting at 6 p.m. Featured is Robert French, who will lead a seminar on the steps and process involved in making Pac-Man – his talk will be of interest to those motivated to create heir first game – and Angela Hopewell of IBM Canada, who will speak to the role IBM can play in the game development process for developers, both new and seasoned.
Joining Angela will be Connie, a Watson powered robot, presenting the first of a number of terrific weekend-long opportunities for media photographers and videographers.
In addition, Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef will speak Sunday (February 19) at 6:15 p.m.
Admission to PTBO Game Jam 02 is free but pre-registration is required. Visit http://ptbogamejam.com/event/ and click the Register Now button. Youths with adult accompaniment are being encouraged to register for just the Friday night Educational Block and are also invited to return Sunday, February 19 after 6 p.m. to see the game creation results.
PTBO Game Jam History
With the goal of fostering a local game development community to the benefit of future generations of game developers, Matthew Davey, the founder of Peterborough-based game development studio dotBunny, organized and hosted the inaugural not-for-profit PTBO Game Jam 01 in August 2016 at the Holiday Inn Peterborough-Waterfront. That event saw 11 new games created and judged.
Based on the overwhelming response to, and success of, that initial foray, plans were made to host a follow-up event in early 2017. To that end, Davey assembled a stellar team of industry professionals working together towards the continued success of the PTBO Game Jam to the benefit of the industry as a whole as well as participants.
It’s estimated that more than 19 million Canadians identify themselves as “gamers,” participating, at some level, in an industry which is expected to grow to a startling $100 billion market value come 2019.
Contact Information
Matthew Davey
reapazor@gmail.com