Spoopy Jam 8: The Ocho

(Register now to start work on your mini gaming masterpiece throughout October.)

Spoopy Jam is back for another year of Halloween-flavored game-dev action alongside UNO's Creative Production Lab, the Maverick Meadow Indie Game Studio, and Omaha Game Developer's Association.

It's nothing but treats when it comes to the tricks of accessibility success: the online portion of the jam and theme are live and open for the entire month of October. That's right, Mavs: YOU HAVE A FULL MONTH TO WORK AT YOUR OWN PACE.

What is a game jam? As soon as the theme is announced October 1st on itch.io, you have until the Halloween deadline to design and create any kind of game you want. This a great way to see if game design is your thing in a low-stakes environment, or test your existing development skills. Support and guidance will be available for newcomers on coming up with ideas, and doing basic interactive development in analog or digital format.

We welcome first time game developers: Designers, artists, musicians, programmers, voice actors, hobbyists, educators, anyone and everyone is welcome to try their hand at making a game. If video games aren't your preference or access to hardware is an issue, you're encouraged to test the waters by making a board game or hopping in to act as a tester for other teams making a game.

🎃 New for 2026: Technology Prep Party - Saturday October 17 🎃

Come to the Criss Library (room 249) -- Organizers will be hosting a Prep Party, where newcomers and seasoned vets take a little time to get prepared, together. This hands-on mini workshop will cover the basics of rapid iteration for game development, tools for game dev, and a bit of team-building.

🎃 Development Sprint - Saturday October 24 & Sunday October 25 🎃

The last full Saturday and Sunday weekend of October we're in-person at the Peter Kiewit Institute (room 158) for a dedicated weekend development sprint. That's a solid weekend together to either start and finish your bogus masterpiece, or 48 hours of just hanging out and showcasing the fine work you've completed during spoopy season.

Anyone can participate online. In-person participants must be at least 19 years of age or a current NU System student.

Organizers and fellow developers will be available through discord and at the in-person event to answer questions and assist with completion of your game. You are not alone!

Event Calendar

Thursday October 1st

12:00pm – Theme announced via Discord, YouTube Live, and itch.io

PREP PARTY DETAILS:

UNO Dodge Campus

Criss Library, Room 249

Saturday October 17

Noon – Room opens for load-in and setup
12:30pm – Brainstorming for Game Design

1:00pm – Freeware and Open-source tools
1:30pm – Installing an Engine and IDE (unity/godot)
2:00pm – Teamwork with Repos (github)

DEVELOPMENT SPRINT WEEKEND DETAILS:

UNO Aksarben Campus

Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI), Room 158

Saturday October 24th

10am – Room opens for load-in and setup

11am – Team-building and Project Pitch Presentations

11am to 8pm – Open development time

Sunday October 25th

10am – Room opens for load-in

10am to 3pm – Final development time

3pm to 4pm – Presentation signup and prep

4pm to 5pm – Game presentations and public play

Saturday October 31st -- HALLOWEEN

11:59pm – Online submission deadline.

Until Then: JOIN THE DISCORD! https://discord.gg/TkN8r2Uk77