GameJam Judge

Last January, I had the pleasure of being invited as a judge at the Montreal's Global GameJam. It was a very interesting experience because the previous year, I had participated at the same event as a contestant.

So this year, instead of being in the mist of a 48h prototyping process, I actually experienced the event from a completely different perspective.

Being able to play a series of prototypes & give direct feedback to the teams, really helped me sharpen my abilities to give on-the-spot constructive design criticism.

Because one of the most important skills to have as a game or level designer is communication, the design process is very iterative and base on constant feedback, and the ability to express clearly concepts, ideas & intentions verbally is almost equally as important to mastering the actual techniques of game/level design like S&F, composition, progression & structure.

I noticed that those that delivered the best prototypes, were also able to express to us clearly their vision & design intentions during Q&A session.

I recommend to anyone that have participated to GameJams as developers to try at least once being a judge, it's a great way to contribute to the event & meet new talented developers.