Have you ever wondered what it is like to be part of making a video game?

How do you test ideas, prototype the technology, get buy-in, and start a company?

What resources and support systems are available for gaming companies operating in the Fraser Valley? The Game Jam is the place to not just learn, but experience all of this in one highly compressed 24 hours from 5pm to 5pm. Our dates for 2026 are Jan 23-24

Final presentations and a chance to play all the games are from 2:30pm to 5pm on Saturday, and are open to the public with free admission. Play time is only 2:30pm to 3:00pm. Come cheer on these teams, and teams invite your friends and family

 

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Questions and Answers

Who is this for?

This event is targeting gamers, creative arts including audio / music, 2D and or 3D art and hi-tech college and university students in the Fraser Valley, as well as high school students registered via Imagine High. However, this event is also open to anyone over 18 who wants to get involved.

Any and all levels of experience are welcome. 

If you have an existing team, you are more than welcome to enter as a team.

When and where is this happening?

It starts at 5PM on Friday and wraps up at 5PM the next day. Yes, this is an overnight event!

The event for both adults and high school students will start and end at Imagine High. Adults working overnight will do so nearby at Cowork Chilliwack.

What if I don't have a team?

No problem! We will start the event off by playing matchmaker between people and teams

Ideal team

Sizes are typically 3 to 5, but teams may be any size.

Each team requires these skill sets, although each person on the team is not expected to have every skill:

1. Programming: Someone with previous experience is required for each team
2. Art: User interface design, environment, characters
3. Music and sound effects: Good games have good audio
4. Game design: Hold the vision of the game / document features to ensure the game is fun
5. Project management: Ensure there is an achievable trackable plan to deliver the game on time
6. Business Model: Ensure someone on the team understands how to make this profitable

Who is going to help guide us during the Game Jam?

We have assembled a panel of experienced game development experts to help you throughout the event. These mentors will be available at specific times throughout the event.

What does the schedule look like?

Friday:

• 5:00pm to 5:30pm: Registration / Networking:  don't be late for this
• 5:30pm to 6:00pm: Education session, including an overview of the judging criteria
• 6:00pm to 6:30pm: Organize people not already on a team, brainstorm on game ideas
• 7:00pm to 9:00pm: Mentors available; High School teams first. Adults go to Cowork Chilliwack

Yes, this really is an all-nighter for adults who will head over nearby to Cowork Chilliwack. Bring a sleeping bag and a pillow if you think you'll want a nap.

Saturday:

• 9:00am to 11:00am: Mentors available; Adult teams first
• 2:30pm Deadline: Game must be setup and playable in the Imagine High lobby
• 2:30pm to 3:00pm: Games available to be played by judges, other teams, and the public
• 3:00pm to 4:30pm: Game pitch to judges, audience
• 4:30pm to 5:00pm: Awards and wrap up

Judging criteria

Each game will be judged based on the following criteria:

1. Game Concept in Pitch: / 20
   1. Genre of game: / 3
   2. Theme / Story: / 3
   3. Business Model: / 5
   4. Core Mechanics: / 3 
   5. Differentiators: / 5
   6. Important Menus: / 1
2. Game Completeness: / 60
   1. Fun factor: / 30
   2. Complete Art, Audio and Music: / 15
   3. Fully playable, including scoring / objectives: / 15
3. Game Pitch and Demo: / 20
   1. Quality of Pitch: / 10
   2. Quality of Demo: /10

Who will judge the teams, and how do they choose a winner?

We have a panel of industry-experienced judges to select the winning team, plus input from our mentors. The judges will score the teams using the Judging Criteria posted above.

• Kalvin Morrow: COO of Zynim Gaming, Zynim Media, and Founder of Greenhouse Games 
• Lindsay Comeau: Cofounder and Creative Director of Zynim Gaming, Zynim Media
• Colin Schmidt: Founder, CEO of Zynim and Wisebox Solutions
• Tim McAlpine: Owner of Cowork Chilliwack, and Chair of the Chilliwack Innovation Network
• Matt Slykhuis: Game Development Teacher at Imagine High

Experience and learning are all great, but are there prizes?

You bet! The first place 24h team will win:

• $650 in Prize Money for the overall winning team to help further develop their game and business
  • High school teams may compete in this open category against adult teams
• $100 in Prize Value for the best high school teams. The Prize value will be managed and distributed by Imagine High
• Note that the winning team must submit a two-page plan within sixty days detailing how the money will be utilized to start/grow the business that will launch the game, or a related/pivoted game, to claim the prize. The prize money must be deposited into a business bank account and come directly from each sponsor (not through Chilliwack.Tech or the event organizers.)

Great! How do I register?

Adults: Registration is right below: Don't delay; register today! Registration costs $15 plus GST, and includes snacks and drinks throughout the event. Bring your own meals, or order them in. Please do encourage your friends to join you, and if you are bringing a team, please be sure that all of them have signed up :)

High School Students: Register with Matt Slykhuis via email at [email protected] 

Final presentations and awards are open to the public!

Invite your family and friends to be the first to see what your team created! All members of the community are welcome to come and cheer on all teams, and potential investors are encouraged to chat with the teams after the awards.

Can we build any of our game ahead of time? 

Since it is perfectly valid to build solutions on top of existing open-source material, game engine templates, and publicly available off-the-shelf assets, it is also valid to start building on top of an existing code base that one or more team members may bring to the table, provided the sum of their parts is not a majority of the final game presented and judged. That said, please consider that the whole point of the Game Jam is for teams to use this time to pivot and iterate on the game concepts, game mechanics, business plan, and technology. Whatever you start with isn't likely to remain the same by the end of the event.

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Register

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