From concept to game in 48 hours: Global Game Jam 2025 in Zurich
One weekend, 80 creative minds, and 23 games – the Global Game Jam 2025 transformed the venerable StuZ in ETH Zurich's main computer science building into a melting pot of game ideas. From 24 to 26 January 2025, the ETH Game Technology Center hosted the Zurich edition of this global event and offered students, game developers and hobbyists a stage to explore their creative limits.
A weekend full of creativity
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest event of its kind, where tens of thousands of game enthusiasts, known as 'jammers,' develop games from scratch within 48 hours in around 800 cities across various countries. This year the ETH Game Technology Center (GTC) organised the Zurich edition for the second time in a row.
Similar to a hackathon, the GGJ challenges participants to develop a game in a short period of time. They can be computer or board games – there are no limits placed on how creative participants can be. The only thing that is fixed is the theme.
The event kicked off on 24 January at 17:00 with a motivational keynote by Fabio Zünd, managing director of the Game Technology Center. David Stark, from the Swiss Game Hub, then outlined how the event would be organised. Finally, the official keynote video from the GGJ Game Management in California, USA, announced this year's theme, 'Bubble', and heralded the start of the creative process.
Teamwork and persistence
The Jam, and with it the opportunity to experiment and network in this environment, attracted a colourful mix of 80 enthusiastic game developers. Participants included students at ETH Zurich, the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK) and the University of Zurich, as well as professional developers and hobbyists. About 20 percent of the participants were women, and the average age was between 25 and 30.
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Every year, tens of thousands of ‘jammers’ take part in the Global Game Jam in around 800 cities around the world.
(Photo: ETH GTC) -
Development usually takes place in small groups of four to five people.
(Photo: ETH GTC) -
An artist at work: In addition to programming skills, the development process also requires a great deal of creativity. (Photo: ETH GTC)
Around 20 participants had not yet joined a team and therefore spontaneously organized themselves into groups on the spot. After the theme was announced, the teams engaged in lively discussions and lots of brainstorming. Things then calmed down on Saturday and Sunday as the 'jammers' concentrated on turning their ideas into concrete games. A small highlight of the weekend was the joint club sandwich meal on Saturday evening, where everyone was able to clear their heads for a short time and then continue working with renewed energy.
The last few hours on Sunday afternoon were rather hectic – while some had already finished their game and were using the remaining time for fine-tuning, others were still feverishly working on fixing bugs. At 17:00, David Stark announced the official end of the Jam.
In a relaxed atmosphere, with snacks and drinks, the 'jammers' then went from table to table and tested each other’s freshly developed games. Even though tiredness was written all over the faces of some participants, the joy of what had been achieved prevailed.
Conclusion and outlook
The Global Game Jam in Zurich was once again a complete success. 23 games were developed, each displaying a unique interpretation of the bubble theme. The smooth organisation of the event, thanks to the team led by Henry Raymond and Elena Frantzis from the ETH Game Technology Center and supported by David Stark from the Swiss Game Hub, created the framework for an inspiring and rewarding weekend that the participants will remember for a long time.
The fact that the event was booked out so quickly shows just how much interest there is in creative challenges and exchange among the Swiss game development scene. It will be interesting to see how the Global Game Jam in Zurich will evolve over the next few years, but one thing is certain: the next 48-hour marathon is eagerly anticipated by a community that can’t wait to immerse itself in the world of game jamming once again.
On Thursday, 6 February 2025 at 7 p.m., a public presentation of the games developed as part of the Global Game Jam Zurich will take place at the Swiss Game Hub at Erika-Mann-Strasse 11 in 8050 Zurich. Registration is not necessary. All games will also be published on the external page global GGJ platform.
Video of the Global Game Jam in Zurich:
