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Video: Anna Kipnis' GDC 2013 talk on MolyJam

Double Fine's Anna Kipnis discusses how a fake Twitter account inspired the Molyjam game jam that had more than 1,000 participants. This GDC 2013 lecture covers how the jam was invented, organized, and became viral so quickly.

Game Developer, Staff

March 29, 2013

2 Min Read
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At GDC 2013, Double Fine's Anna Kipnis discusses how fake Twitter account @PeterMolydeux inspired the Molyjam game jam, which had more than 1,000 participants including the real Peter Molyneux. This free lecture, courtesy of the GDC Vault, is about how the jam was invented, organized, and became viral so quickly. The @PeterMolydeux account was created as a parody for Peter Molyneux's "fantastically ambitious game ideas." In two weeks, Kipnis' local game jam based on the account's tweets quickly caught the attention of international press and developers. Session Name: Molyjam: How Twitter Jokes Can Save Video Games Speaker(s): Anna Kipnis Company Name(s): Programmer, Double Fine Productions Track / Format: Independent Games Summit Overview: Fake Twitter account, @PeterMolydeux, has been lovingly parodying Peter Molyneux's fantastically ambitious game ideas. In two weeks, our modest plan for a local game jam based on these tweets exploded into an international event, with over a thousand people participating in more than thirty cities worldwide. This story is about how Molyjam was invented, organized, and became viral in such a short time. It's about why jams like Molyjam are important to stave off creative stagnation in our industry, and (best of all) the kind of bizarre, preposterous games that resulted from this exercise.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.

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