TOJam

Toronto Game Jam
Location
Key people
  • Emily McGinley
  • Jim McGinley
  • Rob Segal

TOJam or Toronto Game Jam is an annual game development event held at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada each spring, usually the first weekend in May. The event is named for the common abbreviation for Toronto ("T.O."), and the term for an impromptu performance ("jam"), borrowed from jazz. The name of the event is knowingly evocative of "toe jam." The first TOJam event was held in May 2006.[1] Among the organizers/co-founders were Emilie McGinley, Jim McGinley, Rob Segal and Nelson Yu.[2][3][4]

Event Structure

TOJam is a live event that takes place over the course of a single weekend from Friday to Sunday, although some events have offered developers earlier access starting Thursday. [5] Participants are called "jammers" and come from a variety of backgrounds, including hobbyists, students, and professionals. They often participate at the event with their own equipment and supplies.[6] Most attendees are adults, although some exceptions have been made for teenagers.[7] Jammers enlist either solo or in teams. Some enlist as graphics or sound "floaters," lending their skills to a number of different teams, who sign up for their services on a waiting list. While the majority of participants attend the event in person, recent jams have accommodated virtual jammers, due to space limitations and geographical distance. Attendees are not limited to those from Toronto and have included Americans and Finnish participants.[7]

Unlike other development events, TOJam is not a competition, but rather a period where game developers can focus their attention on a single project, with the goal of producing a finished, playable game by the end of the weekend. From the official kick-off Friday evening, jammers have 48 hours to complete their games before displaying them in an informal Sunday night showcase at the event's close.

The TOJam Arcade

A follow-up event, the TOJam Arcade, is scheduled a month or more after the main TOJam event.[8] Unlike the Sunday night showcase that is mainly intended for the jammers themselves, this event is open to the public. Scheduling allows jammers to fine-tune their games before presenting them to consumers, rather than creators, and it's usually held at a bar or pub in downtown Toronto.[9]

At each Arcade event, attendees vote for their favorite games, which are awarded Gold, Silver, and Puce standards. These "winning" games receive priority placement on the TOJam website, even though the goal of the event is to facilitate completed games and to encourage unity across the Toronto game development community.

Required elements

Each year, TOJammers are strongly encouraged to include a number of elements into their games. These elements have included:

  • a splash screen indicating that the game was made at TOJam
  • a recording of the TTC subway doors closing
  • a picture of a goat on a pole, which may be rendered in a style of the developer's choosing

History

When the Toronto Game Jam began, Toronto was not a recognized city for game development, as it was overshadowed by Vancouver and Montreal, where major studios like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft had settled. The event was first suggested by Nelson Yu, a developer-turned-writer, in the IGDA community boards as a way to get more local game development, in an attempt to retain talent. The first TOJam occurred in 2006.[7]

Event Date Theme Attendance Playable Games
TOJam #1 May 5–7, 2006 N/A 35[10] 10
TOJam #2 May 4–6, 2007 N/A 62[10] 26
TOJam #3 May 9–11, 2008 Cheese 125[10] 34
TOJam #4 May 1–3, 2009 Scale 87[10] 37
TOJam #5 April 23, 2010 Missing 196[10] 57[10]
TOJam Sixy Times (#6) May 13–15, 2011 What just happened? 260+[10] 57[10]
TOJam: The Sevening (#7) May 11–13, 2012 The world's NOT ending 400+[10] Unknown[10]
TOJam: Haters Gonna Eight' (#8) May 3–5, 2013 Uncooperative 450+[10] Unknown[10]
Party like it's 19TOJam9 (#9) April 25–27, 2014 After YOU! 450+[10] 105[10]
TOJam: Tentacular (#10) May 1–3, 2015 It's All Come to This 450+[10] 100[10]
TOJam: Don't Stop Beleven (#11) May 6–8, 2016 There Will Be Consequences 450+[10] 89[10]
TOJam: What Twelves Below (#12) May 5–7, 2017 Prepare for Disappointment 450+[10] 102[10]
TOJam: Flirteen with Danger (#13) May 4–8, 2018 Winning is for Losers 625+[10] 139[10]
TOJam: Fourteen Favours the Bold (#14) Planned for 2019, never occurred.[10] N/A N/A N/A
TOJam: Hindsight is 2020 May 8–10, 2020 Together But Apart 470[10] 94[10]
TOJam: Feels Like a Re-run May 14–16, 2021 432[10] 93[10]
TOJam: All Twogether Now May 13–15, 2022 298[10] 65[10]
TOJam 2023: We Lost Count 2023 321[10] 62[10]
TOJam: Talk About Fourshadowing 2024 It's supposed to do that

Awards

In the second, third, and fourth TOJam, a vote was held after the arcade section to decide the winners of the People's Choice awards.[11][12][13] This was discontinued after the fourth TOJam.[14]

Event People's Choice Gold People's Choice Silver People's Choice Puce
TOJam #2 Xiq[11] Benny Hinn's Bible Blast for Cash[11] Quiver[11]
TOJam #3 a game about bouncing[12] debugger[12] Seas of Cheese[12]
TOJam #4 Category 5[13] Flock U[13] Cheese-ohol 2

Rosham Blaster[13]

References

  1. ^ "Games 2006 | Toronto Game Jam | TOJam". www.tojam.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  2. ^ Woo, Jaime (20 May 2011). "Toronto's Tastiest Homemade Game Jam". Torontoist. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. ^ Lissner, Rachel (14 May 2012). "Game Developers Fight Deadlines and Fatigue at TOJam 7". Torontoist. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
  4. ^ Kaszor, Daniel (25 April 2014). "Ninth time's a charm: Toronto's Independent Game Jam closes in on a decade this weekend". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 4 September 2024.
  5. ^ The Grid - Weekend Warriors
  6. ^ Torontoist - Ankle Deep in TOJam
  7. ^ a b c Torontoist (2011-05-20). "Toronto's Tastiest Homemade Game Jam". Torontoist. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  8. ^ RGB Filter - 2010 TOJam Arcade
  9. ^ BlogTO - TOJam #4: Not In Your Mom's Basement (NIYMB))
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae "History". TOJam. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Games 2007: Toronto Game Jam: TOJam". TOJam. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d "Games 2008 | Toronto Game Jam | TOJam". TOJam. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d "Games 2009 | Toronto Game Jam | TOJam". TOJam. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Games 2010 | Toronto Game Jam 2010 2009 | Indie Game Independent | TOJam". TOJam. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021.