First Boston Game Jam Produces Eight New Titles

Officials from the newly founded Boston Games Jam have announced that the first in its proposed annual 36-hour game creation sessions has produced eight titles, soon to be released via the Jam's website. Patterned after the similarly annual Indie Game Jam, the first Boston Game Jam gave its developers a theme, this time the single word "shift," to produce a complete game around over the course of 36 hours. Taking part in the Jam were developers from Turbine, CogniToy, Unknown Worlds, Demiurge, Funkitron, and SolidWorks, as well as MIT Education Arcade, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Singapore-MIT Game Lab, and a number of independent producers. In the end, eight games were produced, including titles, officials said, loosely interpreting the 'shift' theme to include games based on 'shifting perceptions around the diamond trade' or 'preventing jetlag on intercontinental flights.' Other producers used the theme to instruct the game mechanics themselves, including games on shifting seasons, shifting products amongst moving conveyor belts, shifting geopolitical relations amongst nations, or shifting rhythm phases. Said event organizer and participant Darius Kazemi, "The Boston Game Jam went off smoother than I could have hoped. We all scoped our games appropriately for the given time period, and the art and sound ended up being way better than you'd expect to see in a bunch of 36-hour games." Screenshots, downloads, and developer diaries from the session will soon be available via the Boston Jam's official website.