How Sumo India leverages ‘Game Jams’ to elevate creativity
For those unaware of the term, a game jam is a team event where game developers come together (usually outside of their everyday job) and brainstorm creative ideas to design video games. It could be considered a hackathon for game developers, as these game jam sessions give the team a chance to show their creative spirit.
During these events, the developers and members of the team get the chance to prototype small format games in a limited time frame. This activity can enhance their cognitive skills, improves their understanding of tools, and boosts productivity.
Game jams: A global trend and internal collaborative activity
Game jams are perceived to be team-building activities that help improve internal dynamics and give developers the creative liberty to experiment and explore. As a result, teams often come up with innovative designs. While such jams are organized at the global level; various leading gaming brands also organize their own internal game jams.
Sumo Digital leverages the power of game jams for sparking creativity and innovation
Sumo Digital is one of the leading gaming brands that introduced game jams back in 2015, and ever since, they have been an integral part of Sumo Digital’s social initiative. These jams give its people a break from their usual projects and offer them a chance to work on smaller projects, with different teams, are designed from scratch. This way they are able to think out-of-the-box ideas and build the games the way they want to without any inhibitions.
Sumo Digital’s game jams are usually held twice a year and organized by the individual studios within the company. On the day of the jam, the project leads and directors finalise the dates and the studios are then informed a month or so in advance. These jams are not thematically based and are free-flow events, allowing its people to think innovatively and come up with unique ideas.
The game jams can last as long as two weeks, and developers can work individually or as a group. Once the two-week period is over, everyone showcases the output of their game jams to their fellow people in the studio. There is no official jury to judge the winning game, in fact, it is the people within each studio that votes for the entries. This process ensures everyone feels a part of the activity and motivates them to be actively involved in the upcoming jams. Awards are also given to the developers for areas such as ‘most original concept’ and ‘best team’.
The developers often able to create epic games ina short period of time and in some cases, the games created in the jams have even make their way into production. However, this happens only after evaluating the feasibility of the game by putting it through a concept phase and analysing if it can become a production-ready title.
The required support is then provided to polish the games and take them to the user testing phase.
Snake Pass is a prominent example of one game jam project that went on to be a big success, a game that came about when Sumo Digital developer Sebastiaan Liese was creating an in-game rope but forgot to attach it to anything – resulting in a snake-like movement. Three months were spent transforming this concept into a playable demo with the help of a small team, and the game went on to be a hit with critics and gamers alike.
The relevance of gam jams for gaming brands
Game jams are a great collaboration exercise for those who are passionate about gaming and wish to seek inspiration to enhance their skills moving forward. They are the perfect idea for recreational activities where exploration and creativity are encouraged. With world-class tools and technologies at their disposal, the studios have a collaborative environment where they can work in tandem to come up with a new game prototype that could be the next big thing in the video games industry. Gaming companies on a global level are keen to organize game jams as they foster teamwork and friendship amongst their people. Everyone can come together and enjoy these jams while also working on potentially innovating games. Above all, it’s a way of celebrating and acknowledging the team’s creativity as well as inspiring others. At Sumo India Studios and across Sumo Digital’s other busy studios, such game jams are cultural events paving the way for socializing and teamwork in the truest sense.
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