SUNY Canton Joins Global Game Jam Jan. 29-31

CANTON, NY (01/22/2016)(readMedia)-- Faculty from the SUNY Canton Graphic and Multimedia Design (GMMD) program are inviting anyone with an interest in developing games to a Global Game Jam 48-hour event beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, in Nevaldine North Room 112.

The Global Game Jam is purported to be the largest game creation and game development event taking place at coinciding times and multiple locations. SUNY Canton students and other participants will join gamers from around the world to create games based on a shared theme, according to Christopher Sweeney, an associate professor who teaches in the GMMD program.

"One of our founding advisory board members in the program is the founder and president of the Global Game Jam," Sweeney said. "Susan Gold, a professor at Northeastern University, created this record-breaking game-making event, which is now hosted in nearly 80 countries. Some of our most creative students are eager to design, develop and make their own new games within the set timeframe."

Participants can either create video or board games at the SUNY Canton event and then will have the chance to share their creations with other participants. During last January's event, 500 locations created more than 5,400 games in just one weekend.

The event is free and open to game enthusiasts, but contributors should preregister at http://globalgamejam.org/2016/jam-sites/gmmd-media-lab. Computers, printers and the necessary software will be provided. For more information, contact Sweeney by phone at 315-386-7424 or sweeneyc@canton.edu.

The event is continuing a tradition that began last semester when SUNY Canton participated in a 15-hour game jam event led by Alainya Kavaloski, an assistant professor who teaches Humanities at the college. Students designed and built mobile games in a GPS-based mobile media game platform.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as ten exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III.

-www.canton.edu-