About Gamerella
GAMERella is the world’s longest running annual game jam and workshop series focusing on supporting marginalized game creators and aspiring game makers. Our next edition is planned for November, 2023.
SIGN UP WILL BE LIVE IN SEPTEMBER!
Every year, GAMERella creates opportunities to meet all types of people (including those who support underrepresented folks in the industry) who are interested in game development. Many people still feel intimidated by the gaming scene and find it difficult to participate in events like game jams. In 2013, GAMERella was conceived at the Montreal based TAG Lab to welcome people who are often marginalized in game-related spaces, and to prove that game jams can be a safe and exciting environment for creating small, innovative games in a short period of time. Everyone, including first-time game makers, is experimenting, learning, and sharing skills with others. We believe that GAMERella is a place to improve a skill, try risky and unconventional game design ideas, meet other developers, and above all, have fun.
WHERE IS THE JAM?
MONTREAL: for in-person participation (access to team-making sessions, catered food, mentors, and much much more!) Location: Concordia University, EV building, 11th floor
ONLINE: for people jamming from home, anywhere in the world (access to organizers, mentors, and other jammers on our Discord server. Please download Discord and make yourself an account. At the end of your registration your very own Discord invite link will be displayed! Make sure you grab it!
WHEN IS THE JAM?
November 2022
Exact dates will be announced soon!
For in-person jammers in Montreal, we will jam for two days. However, we think sleeping is more important than making games, so we will all be sending you home to have a good sleep at night’s sleep!
For online jammers, the recommended jamming time: flexible hours.
All participants will be invited to submit their game to our itch.io jam page! (link will be active soon)
HEALTH & SAFETY
For in-person participants: please beware, that corresponding with the Provincial Government’s stance on Coronavirus-related public health measures, GAMERella’s hosts: the Milieux Institute as well as the TAG Lab request all participants to wear a surgical or higher quality mask. KN94 masks will be provided free of charge to all participants.
At GAMERella, we want to continue to exercise caution, approaching public health measures from a place of mutual-care and in ways that ensure the wellbeing of all our participants. Our location is very well ventilated. But we are also amplifying ventilation with a large HEPA air filter. Furthermore, please ensure that you wipe down your work-space after use using the cleaning supplies we have provided.
If you have COVID symptoms leading up to/during the jam, or test positive, please remain/return home and immediately notify the organizers. Thank you!
OUR STORY
Dissatisfied with the game spaces and opportunities provided for women in Montreal’s game scene, Gina Hara and Charlotte Fisher created GAMERella in 2013. Since then GAMERella has welcomed over 1000 participants in a low stress, learner-friendly environment. GAMERella participants have come a long way over the years: founded over a dozen game studios, went to study games, became professional freelancers, got hired by many AAA studios, and even came back to GAMERella to teach, mentor and become organizers 
WE WOULDN’T BE HERE WITHOUT…
GAMERella 2022 was presented by Concordia University’s Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) Research Centre and is supported by Weird Ghosts and EA Motive Studio. This year’s supporters are coming soon!
Our partners include Concordia Universiy and the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology.
