Registration for the 2020 Global Game Jam is open!

UMBC is once again hosting the Global Gam Jam this January. It will run from 5pm Friday, January 31st to 5pm Sunday, February 2nd, just after classes start. Space is limited, so sign up now!

For anyone who hasn’t participated, the global game jam is a 48 hour game development event, similar in spirit to a hackathon, with hundreds of host sites around the world. At 5pm local time, introduce the jam and announce this year’s theme. Previous year’s themes have ranged from a phrase (“as long as we’re together there will always be problems”) to a word (“extinction”) to an image (ouroboros: a snake eating its tail), to a sound (the recording of a heartbeat). Participants brainstorm game ideas around the theme, form into teams, and spend the weekend building games that are designed to be both fun and express the theme.

The UMBC site is not restricted to just students. In previous years, we have had a mix of UMBC students, alumni, students from other schools, game development professionals, and just people with an interest in game development. More details at gaim.umbc.edu/global-game-jam. However, we are limited to just 40 participants, so sign up early if you want to come.

The UMBC Game Developers Club's Digital Entertainment Conference 2019 featured a lineup of fantastic presentations, and now one of them is available on YouTube! Check out Andrei Shulgach's presentation on "Games Industry Networking, Portfolio, and More!": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peyo2_Qkilc&feature=youtu.be

Special thanks to the Computer Science Education Club and the UMBC COEIT Dean's Office's Collaborative Student Funding Program.

ESA Foundation Scholarship Program

In 2007 the ESA Foundation established a scholarship program to assist women and minority students who are pursuing degrees leading to careers in Computer & Video Game Arts. In 2009 we extended this opportunity to graduating high school seniors and doubled the amount of awards granted from 15 to 30.

The scholarships are offered for full-time undergraduate study at accredited four-year colleges and universities in the USA.  Up to 30 scholarships of $3,000 each will be awarded annually, 15 to graduating high school seniors and 15 to current college students.

Applicants must be:

• Women or minority students,
• Pursuing degrees leading to careers in computer and video game arts (high school seniors must already be accepted into a program),
• Enrolling or enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States,
• Maintaining a grade point average of 2.75 or above on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent), and
• US citizens.

To apply online, please visit https://aim.applyISTS.net/esaf. Applications for the 2018-19 program will be accepted February 1 - April 26, 2018. Click on the Frequently Asked Questions link to learn more about the program and application process.

Be sure to check out Q&As with our past scholars to learn about how the ESA Foundation Scholarship helped them pursue their passion:

• Tré Lannon, University of Southern California
• Warren Lindsey, Savannah College of Art and Design

The ESA Foundation Computer and Video Game Scholarship Program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. (ISTS).

For the 10th year running, UMBC is proud to be a host site for the Global Game Jam. The Global Game Jam is a weekend-long game development event taking place at hundreds of sites across the world. Sign up now to participate over the weekend of January 26-28, 2018!

• https://globalgamejam.org/2018/jam-sites/umbc