Hey, I didn't notice any plugs for Global Game Jam 2010 (January 29-31,2010) so I thought I'd add one. It's great fun and sign up started last week.

I'm a local organizer, so anyone in the Cincinnati area, please sign up for ours. We have some great facilities at Miami University and good sponsors.  Here's the usual info:

The Global Game Jam (GGJ) encourages people to challenge themselves and be creative. Over the course of a weekend you and a team of game makers will build a computer game from paper prototype to finished marvel. The game theme will be given to you on the first day of the event - what you do with the theme is your choice.

Game Jam participants range from amateurs to professionals and include industry professionals, students, faculty, hobbyists and anyone with a passion for making games.  In its second year, the GGJ is a global experiment in creativity you won’t want to miss.

The Miami University location offers a beautiful campus with state of the art computer labs, supportive staff and faculty, and easy access to everything you would need to make your game Jam weekend an unforgettable experience.

What is a Game Jam?
ParticipantsAs the folks at the Toronto Game Jam put it – a game jam is an around the clock, game making binge.  Coders, artists, musicians, designers and people who love game making join forces to bless the world with a new computer game.  They work intensely over a weekend, and share a passion for games.

A game jam is also an unforgettable bonding experience.  A full weekend of hard work, a crazy deadline, and the kind of creative inspiration that only comes at 2:00 am. Think pizza, white boards, Mountain Dew, and aha moments.     

• http://www.GlobalGameJam.org: The official site
  
• http://aims.muohio.edu/gamejam:Our Local Jam
  

Critical Gameplay is a collection of strategically designed video games. Each game asks the question, what do common game mechanics teach us? Each of the games in the collection are designed to help reevaluate our perspective on gameplay experiences. Critical gameplay seeks to offer alternate perspectives on the way we play.

The Exhibition:
Several video games will be displayed for visitors to play on multiple stations. Each games evaluates a specific gameplay standard and actively works against it. The hope is the initiation of an intellectual dialogue about the opportunities in unexplored gameplay mechanics.

The exhibition will also include other video games and interactive works created by Lindsay Grace.

The exhibition is open to the public and will be held for one night on April 17th, 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm.
•   Location: 1100 West Cermak (enter at 2268 S. Carpenter / Gate A), Chicago, Illinois, USA
•   Time: 6:30pm - 10:00pm
•   Cost: Free (Open to the public)
•   Contact: [email protected]

Free beer, wine and refreshments will be served.

Please visit http://www.CriticalGameplay.com  for more information

For a video teaser, visit