The MIT Game Lab is spending January obsessed with arcade games! This one-day game jam is the official start time for a month-long game development session to create games that will be playable at arcade cabinets in the MIT Museum and MIT's Comparative Media Studies | Writing department. Students who attend will form teams and create design and technical prototypes that will eventually become full fledged games by the end of the month.

The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest game jam event taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today’s heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games – it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.

Join us on Saturday, February 8, 2014 for a day of game creation, fun, and frivolity. No game design experience necessary: all you need is enthusiasm and a desire to participate. Everyone is welcome!

LABELS ARE FOR CLOTHES. Being queer means often having to label yourself -- or be labeled by others -- so you fit into easy categories, but that's not always what you want. We encourage participants to make games about rejecting labels and being put into boxes against their will.