Global Game Jam Bari 2025
From January 24 to 26, 2025, the Global Game Jam was held, an annual event that takes place simultaneously worldwide in the various locations that are accredited by the non-profit organization that manages it: in each location, the GGJ takes place continuously for 48 hours in each time zone, starting at 5:00 pm on the day it starts and ending at 5:00 pm two days later.
Participants of various experiences, such as people who deal with game design, software development, storytelling, art and music, collaborate to create a game in the allotted time, not necessarily an electronic one. The event is open to anyone who wants to explore the different phases of the creation of a (video)game, making their skills available and learning from the other participants, coming into contact with a stimulating community with which to share passions and ideas. Participation in the GGJ is free and therefore does not require specific prerequisites, creativity and a desire to collaborate are enough. The event stands out for its theme, which is revealed only shortly before the start, challenging those who will take part in the event to create unique games with limited resources and in a pre-established time.
This year the event was hosted at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Bari and was organized by the Games Invaders collective, composed of enthusiasts, academics and experts in the videogame and multimedia sector who aim to promote gaming culture and technological innovation in Puglia. The founders of the collective are: Fabrizio Balducci, Pierpaolo Basile, Teresa Romano, Lucia Siciliani and Marco Testini, who were joined as co-organizers of the event by Stefano Caporale, Gloria Galantino, Eleonora Ghizzota, Elio Musacchio and Tiziano Palumbo.
The GGJ of Bari attracted the interest of two sponsors, namely the AIV (Accademia Italiana Videogiochi) and the training and consulting center Biunivoca, both based in Rome, who financed the purchase and printing of gadgets and posters, along with the availability of snacks and drinks. Also noteworthy is the support of the partners, namely Grafite, Crocevia dei Mondi and Global Shapers.
The program of the Bari edition saw the event spread over three days starting from the early afternoon of Friday, in which the participants were welcomed by the organizers in the rooms of the Computer Science department, giving them badges and nice gadgets. Afterwards, Giuseppe Longo (aka "Misbug"), a veteran of the GGJ both as a participant and as an organizer, held a short talk to provide the "rules of survival"; in the following half an hour, the participants created the work groups "choosing" each other according to the skills declared on the appropriate badge.
There were about a hundred participants, of which about 30 chose to collaborate only online or as simple observers; the possibility of participating online saw the collaboration of people even far from Bari distributed in various Italian locations such as Rome and Milan.
The final day on Sunday saw the creation of 19 games including three board games; the presence of additional visitors, who came to observe and try the games created, increased the satisfaction of all the groups now exhausted by three days of intense work but satisfied with the results.
Article from the Bari newspaper:
