The Music Video(Game) Jam Is Jan 12–18

On the 12th of January, the Music Video(Game) Jam, or #MVGJam, begins! From there, you will have a week to create your entry.

Whoa! Hold On For a Sec; What Might the #MVGJam Be?

It’s a jam dedicated to making music video(game)s of course! The Music Video(game) Jam is a week-long jam, from Jan 12 through Jan 18, with the purpose of creating music video(games). Under the music tab on the jam page, there will be three possible songs to use for your game generously provided by various talented artists. When the jam starts, you will pick one of these songs, and craft a game around your chosen song.

Hmm, What’s a ‘Music Video(game)’ Then?

A music video(game) is typically a non-player centric game. Here’s a short piece on Gamasutra dipping into the idea of non-player-centric-games, but for the purpose of this jam, a music video(game) is defined as:

• no sounds outside of the selected song

• the game must end when the song does

• the ending should (ideally) concluded the game in a satisfying way

• the game should not interrupt the song, but rather flow with it (ie: the game should showcase the song)

As stated above, the game should feature the song, rather than steal the spotlight. Create an experience that alters the way players will hear the song from now on. Build your game to match the flow of the song. Simply put, make the song visually interactive!

Might You Have Any Examples?

Three examples of a music video(game) that I’ve created are:

• Bottle Rockets

• You Don’t Know the Half of It: Fins of the Father

• and Temporality.

While the songs within these games will not be part of the jam, these games feature all the elements of a music video(game): the only audio is the song, the games end when the song ends, and the games exists as a means of adding emotion and visuals to the featured songs. Even better, all these games were made in under a week, so this jam is totally doable!

The Music Video(game) Jam page also has youtube videos of such games scattered about, as does this piece, just in case you’d like a non-interactive example.

I’m Sold! Now What?

Sit back, relax, and get ready to jam while you jam!

Oh, don’t forget to spread the word; use MVGJam for Twitter and Facebook. Build up a team perhaps, and encourage others to join the fun! It’ll be a great way to start off the new year on the right foot, and a wonderful alternative jam to get those dev thoughts flowing.

Good luck and keep well. Cheers!

#gamejam #jam #game #music #Newyear #gameJolt