OrcaJam is a "GameJam" along the lines of the Global Game Jam, or TIGJams, or other game-development Jams you might have heard of. If you haven't heard of them, no worries! It's really quite simple:

A bunch of like-minded people get together and work on what they love - games - for 48 hours.

Not everyone stays up the full 48 hours straight (we like to promote healthy sleeping!), but getting together and meeting new friends - sharing information - learning new skills - and having a blast creating something from nothing... all in a mere 48 hours!! ... is really an exciting time for everyone. What's more fun than getting together and doing what you love, with people that love you?

So come on out and meet people from the industry.. Hang out and work on your own projects, start a new one, or take the challenge: Make a game, start to finish, in 48 hours!

Programmers! Artists! Audio Engineers! Board game designers! Anyone interested in game development at all should come; team up with your newfound friends and make something amazing!

OrcaJam is being held from Friday, September 16th (6pm) for 48 straight hours, until Sunday September 18th (6pm). Held in Victoria, BC, on the West Coast of Canada; Victoria is the Capital of British Columbia, and is a beautiful, sunny, garden town that is based primarily in tourism.

There's lots of stuff to do here - tons of brewpubs, clubs, whale Orca watching tours, garden tours, historical districts, etc.! There's something for everyone! The city is pretty small though, so it's kinda like Vancouver or Seattle, but 10% of the size. For more info, there's always Wikipedia's entry on our fair city. NOTE: We are on an island. Indie Island.

We've secured a space at InHub, a collaborative workspace in downtown Victoria. 833 Fisgard Street, to be precise.

We'll kick off the event with a pre-party at Swan's Brewpub at 2pm (more details to follow), and on Sunday we'll probably go right till midnight, celebrating and collapsing from exhaustion.

We are asking for $50 (cdn) per person to attend the event. This price includes:

• Lunch, Snacks, some beers, and maybe more (depending on sponsors)
• At least one gift (tshirt? tote bag? not firm yet, details coming)
• A shot at some door prizes
• Full 48-hour access to the venue

Buy your ticket at OrcaJam's official Meetup.com page! Seating is limited to 30 people, so please sign up quickly!

We'll be providing lunch, snacks, and some beverages, but we are right downtown - tons of restaurants and pubs nearby (and a Karaoke bar...). This event is being held at a private venue, so it's totally OK to bring your own food from the nearby grocery store, too.

We have a private office all to ourselves - 25mbps down, 2mbps up, wifi, and wired connection ports. Don't worry about your internets.

We encourage you to bring your own laptops as desktops are big and bulky. But if you must, you must, and we have plenty of space.

At the end of the event, we will be setting up a projector and letting anyone show off their projects to the sleep deprived crowd. We'll break out some celebratory snacks and beers.

Historically for these dates, Victoria has temperatures ranging from 13°C (56°F) at night to 20°C (68°F) during the day. It might get a little windy, so bring a sweater. Rain isn't expected but is always a possibility. There will definitely not be snow, and us Canadians will be wearing shorts and t-shirts regardless.

We have some contacts at a nearby hotel, and we were able to secure a pretty sweet price ($70/night) for anyone who wishes to partake. If this doesn't work for you, Victoria is a big tourism town with a few hostels and dozens of other hotels nearby.

The hotel we secured the special rate at is the Travellers Inn "City Center". To ensure you get the good rate, call them at (250) 953-1000 and mention you are attending OrcaJam. Be sure you reference "City Center" at 1961 Douglas Street! We have a dozen Travellers Inns in Victoria.

Though it's probable that you could doze off at OrcaJam itself, it might be hard to sleep or find room.

I'm totally willing to pick anybody up in the TIGVan if you need transportation to/from any location in Victoria. Just let me know! andy@andymoore.ca

From abroad

Victoria has an International Airport [CYYJ]. It's a bit far away from the event space (40 minute drive or so), and taxis will cost you approximately $55.

There is a shuttle bus operated by Akal that charges around $19 per person (less for groups) that will take you right to OrcaJam.

There is city bus service to the airport at a rate of only $2.50, but you will have to transfer once to make it to OrcaJam.

From Vancouver

BC Ferries runs several trips per day, every day, from Vancouver to Victoria. Cost is around $14 per person, and $50 per vehicle. The trip takes about 1.5 hours.

If you don't have a vehicle, you can buy an inter-city bus ticket from Pacific Coach Lines. They have a terminal downtown Vancouver (near Science World), and the ticket price will include the ferry and take you right past the venue in Victoria for $42. Easy!

If you can make your own way to the ferry, there is a city bus that can pick you up on the Victoria side and will take you downtown, for $2.50. A taxi from the same location would likely cost more than $70.

If you are Mister Fancypants and want to fly in, Helijet offers downtown-to-downtown service for $199. It's a pretty sweet ride, I'd recommend it if you have the cash to burn! There's also floatplanes that go downtown-to-downtown for $145.

From Washington State

The Victoria Clipper is a passenger-only ferry that can take you direct from downtown Seattle to downtown Victoria for just $100 (round-trip). It's fast (around 3 hours). From the Victoria side, it's only a 20 minute walk to the event location. Reservations are recommended, as it's cheaper that way.

From western Washington, the Coho Ferry leaves Port Angeles and will also take you to downtown Victoria. It carries vehicle and foot traffic (~$50/car, $12/person).

North of Seattle, there is a ferry leaving Anacortes for $16 (plus $55 for vehicles). This one arrives north of Victoria, near the airport and BC Ferries terminals.

American fancypantses can take a floatplane from Seattle to downtown Victoria for about $150 (round trip).

OrcaJam is the brainchild of the LEVEL UP! organization, a collection of local game developers that are looking to promote the Victoria (and Pacific NorthWest area) gaming scene. The organization is led by Andy Moore, and receives incredible support and organization from Fieran Mason and the IEEE Student Branch.

SIGN UP NOW!