The SETI Institute, the organisation searching for alien life in the universe, announced today that it will host a game jam later this year. The SETI-JAM, as its organizers are calling it, is the first game jam to use SETI Institute research, data, and input from prominent scientists.

　　The event is aimed at "developers of every experience level," and will allow game creators to collaborate with the institute to create games around the theme of the Drake Equation (above). This is an equation used to approximate the number of "communicative extraterrestrial civilizations" in the Milky Way Galaxy. It seeks to answer the question, "Are we alone?"

　　Although the Drake Equation is the major theme for the SETI-JAM, attendees can also tap into SETI's knowledge base for fields like asteroids, extrasolar planet detection, earthquake prediction, climate change, and the birth of stars, among other topics. Developers can make games for any genre, but all titles must use SETI Institute data.

　　Overall, SETI says its game jam is the first part of a new initiative to use games to reach out to the public and engage people in "real science" and the search for life outside of Earth.

　　"At The SETI Institute we have a passion for discovery and for sharing knowledge with the world. We see gaming as a terrific vehicle to engage with the public on real science and research," said Karen Randall, SETI Institute special projects director.

　　"By giving game developers direct access to our scientists and research we hope to kick-start a new effort using games to bring real science to the public."

　　The SETI-JAM will be held October 17-19 at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, as well as at satellite locations like the Gjovik University in Norway and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Additional venues will be announced later. SETI researchers will be on hand during the events to lend their expertise to developers.

　　Registration for the SETI-JAM opens on September 29 through this website.

　　Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch