Did you know there’s a 48 hour game-off held annually in January by the International Game Developers Association? What’s that? You didn’t know there was an International Game Developers Association! You spoony bard!

Why, I’ve known for all of twenty minutes. I found out on my iPhone. At Starbucks. In a foreign country. I was listening to a band, they’re new and really good and you’ve never heard of them. That’s how hip I am.

Thousands of developers and development teams conceptualize, code, and compile games in the spirit of creativity. To keep the playing field level during this two-day event, each year has a secret theme. This year’s theme?

Ouroboros: A serpent eating its own tail.

Hey! I’ve played that game before. It was on my scientific calculator. It was called “Snake.”

I probably should have paid attention during Calculus class, instead of playing this.

However, the symbol has multiple meanings. The most common is the theme of alchemy. Or “The Circle of Life” for fans of The Lion King.

Transitive transmogrification and transmutation for the win, y’all!

The Global Game Jam 2012 is already in progress in most time zones. If you’d like to join or check out some of the projects, head over to the Global Game Jam website for more details.