The first step is to register at http://www.madewithmarmalade.com/blackberry. Then create your BlackBerry 10 application using the Marmalade SDK and submit it within 30 days in “Draft” to BlackBerry World. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be 100% ready for this first step!

The first 300 qualifying vendors will receive a free BlackBerry Dev Alpha testing device on loan. Once apps are completed, submitted for final review, and approved, you’ll receive your free Marmalade Indie License (value of $499 USD) and you’ll get to keep your testing device to create more apps!

Our Marmalade License offer last year was extremely popular with over 1,000 apps created! Be sure to register quickly to secure your free Marmalade Indie License and be one of the first 300 to get a free BlackBerry Dev Alpha device.

If you already received a BlackBerry Dev Alpha device, you won’t qualify for an additional one. However, you are still eligible for the free license. Previous recipients of a free Marmalade License through a BlackBerry offer are not eligible to enter this promotion

For those that don’t know about Marmalade, it’s a powerful cross-platform SDK for the creation of richer apps and games on BlackBerry, iOS, Android and other platforms.

Marmalade makes it easier than ever to create BlackBerry 10 apps. Why not try developing your app with the new Marmalade RAD tool, which you’ll get for free when you sign up? Marmalade Quick is a fast, flexible and open RAD programming environment for the creation of 2D games and apps. It’s based upon best-in-class open source components including Cocos2d-x/Box2D, and the entire engine is made available in source code.

www.madewithmarmalade.com/BlackBerry

The BlackBerry presence at GDC wasn’t just to showcase the powerful platform and tools we provide for game developers, it was also to show those developers and designers how they can be successful on BlackBerry 10.

Our booth was a reflection of our message to the game development communities. We played host to evangelists, consultants, platform developers, technical leads, marketing guys, documentation writers, and game developers. We demonstrated that we are here to support developers and entrepreneurs – this is how we relate to developers all around the world and how we want to connect with game developers as well!

At GDC we shared the news of our partnership with Unity- expanding the possibilities that developers have to create and bring titles to BlackBerry 10. We also had special guests join us on stage to share stories on how successful they were with their titles on BlackBerry 10.

We showcased some of the great game titles already available on BlackBerry 10 and gamers took advantage of the opportunity to play on the BlackBerry Z10. The busiest part of the booth was where we showed off gaming on the BlackBerry Z10 with Shadowgun using our Gamepad API and the HDMI output of the BlackBerry Z10 as a true console replacement.

People who came into our booth were mostly looking for opportunities. People that left the booth were thrilled about BlackBerry 10 and the opportunities our platform provides.

For those who don’t me, my name is Pratik Sapra and I work as a Gaming Consultant on the Developer Relations team at BlackBerry. In my role, I work with game developers on the technical side and help them bring awesome gaming titles to the BlackBerry platform. I am really looking forward to this weeks Game Developer Conference along with the rest of the BlackBerry gaming crew.

In that regard, I am very excited to share that we have a great set of in-booth sessions (Booth 1216) lined up at our GDC booth. We will be presenting a wide range of topics covering everything you need to know about game development on BlackBerry 10. You will be hearing directly from BlackBerry gaming experts on topics including Native Development, Cocos2dx, Unity, Scoreloop and many more. We will be kicking off each day with a general overview session followed by a set of how-to sessions focused on specific topics and technologies. Scroll down below for the full session schedule.

Wednesday, March 27^th

10:00 – 10:15AM            Native Game Development on BlackBerry 10

11:00 – 11:15AM            How to set up a native game in under 10 minutes on BlackBerry 10

1:15 – 1:30PM                  How to add gamepad support to BlackBerry 10 games

2:00 – 2:15PM                  How to write an HTML 5/ WebGL game on BlackBerry 10

2:30 – 2:45PM                  How to write an Adobe AIR application on BlackBerry 10

3:00 – 3:15PM                  How to write a multiplatform game on Blackberry 10

Thursday, March 28^th

10:00 – 10:15AM            Social Gaming on BlackBerry 10

11:00 – 11:15AM            How to bring your Unity 4 game to BlackBerry 10

1:15 – 1:30PM                  How to port your iOS game to BlackBerry 10, Tips & Tricks

2:00 – 2:15PM                  How to bring your Cocos2dx game to BlackBerry 10

3:00 – 3:15PM                  How to add Leaderboards and Achievements to BlackBerry 10 games using Scoreloop

Friday, March 29^th

10:00 – 10:15AM            Building your Gaming Strategy for BlackBerry 10

10:30 – 10:45AM            How to add in-game advertising to BlackBerry 10 games

11:00 – 11:15AM            How to add in-app payment services to BlackBerry 10 games.

1:15 – 1:30PM                  How to package, publish and distribute your BlackBerry 10 game on BlackBerry World

2:00 – 2:15PM                  How to save BlackBerry 10 game state in the cloud

2:30 – 2:45PM                  How to convert, build and debug BlackBerry 10 games with Visual Studio

I’m looking forward to next week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (Mar 25-29).  With the global launches of BlackBerry 10, there’s never been a more exciting time to be a game developer on BlackBerry.

I’ve lived and breathed gaming for a very long time. Prior to joining BlackBerry, I was the founder and CEO of game development company SouthEnd Interactive between 1998-2010 and was Lead Game Designer and Senior Producer on games such as Deathrow (Xbox), R-Type Dimensions (XBLA), Lode Runner (XBLA) and Ilomilo (XBLA/WP7) on Xbox/360, PlayStation 3, Android, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and other platforms.

For the last three years, BlackBerry has been building the most accessible and most developer friendly platform for game developers -and here it is – BlackBerry 10!  Blackberry has also partnered will all the major game engine and middle ware companies such as Unity, Marmalade, Shiva to ensure that the tools you use today are available for you with BlackBerry 10 gaming.

Kick start your move to BlackBerry 10 by visiting www.github.com/blackberry where we have over 70 of the most used open source projects including cocos2d-x, box2D, bullit physics and Ogre3D.

Join many of the top gaming titles from top developers such as EA, Gameloft, Disney, Rovio, Halfbrick, AMA, SEGA, 10tons, Hexage, funkoi, PawPrint Games, Madfinger Games, zeptolab, … and the list just goes on and on!

Be sure to catch my session at Game Developers Conference and learn how BlackBerry 10 can be one of your primary profitable platforms that adds significant value to your game franchise.  The session is “Building your gaming strategy for BlackBerry 10” on Thursday March 28 at 5:30–6:30 pm West 3022.

I’d love to talk gaming with you! Please stop by the BlackBerry Booth 1216 at Game Developers Conference.

For a closer look at what Marmalade is capable of make sure you check out this demo of Nick using Marmalade Quick to build a 2D application really fast with Lua and Cocos2d.

Have you used Marmalade to create apps for BlackBerry 10? We’d love to hear about how your experience has been so far!

Last call for porting apps starts Jan 18th – Register now for the Last Chance Port-A-Thon!

After staying up for 37.5 hours and working with some amazing developers to submit 15,060 apps, how do I reward myself? Obviously, by planning another port-a-thon this weekend! We’ve also doubled the reward opportunity for developers as we look for some new and exciting apps to add to BlackBerry World.

That’s right: this weekend we will have $2,000,000 available in rewards to developers for submitting their apps. Our last few port-a-thons have been so successful that we’re confident this weekend will yield some amazing apps for BlackBerry 10.

What apps are eligible, you ask? You can build/port apps using any one of the development languages that supports BlackBerry 10. Port from Android, use HTML5, Native C/C++, AIR, jQuery, Marmalade, Qt, PhoneGap, Appcelerator, Sencha and more. Additionally, apps created using BlackBerry App Generator are also eligible. (Note: you need to own the blog content to be eligible)

All apps that are submitted will be reviewed and approved apps will be notified with rewards. You can find answers to any logistical questions here.

These port-a-thons are just part of our dedication to our developers and apps for our new BlackBerry 10 platform. We’re dedicated to building a healthy ecosystem for BlackBerry 10. We’re committed to our Built For BlackBerry initiative and our 10k developer commitment.

Get on board – now’s your chance to get your app ready for the BlackBerry 10 launch.

Two of my twenty #BB10portathon apps appeared in app world in less than 24 hours! Just when I couldn't #bb10believe any more…—
Ross Cheriton (@RossCheriton) January 12, 2013

We submitted 2 apps yesterdays for this weekend's #BB10Portathon are you ready for BlackBerry 10 yet? 16 days till launch!—
techfruits.com (@techfruitscom) January 13, 2013

The #bb10portathon events have been great. I've released one or two apps/games at each one. I've learned skills, and released apps!—
Dale Wick (@hardhatpsp) January 14, 2013

I hope you can join us for the BlackBerry Last Chance Port-A-Thon, as it’s a great experience where you can to meet our team, other developers, learn more about developing for BlackBerry, and get rewarded.

Go forth and port!

The BlackBerry 10 Community Port-A-Thon will start on noon ET January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  This is also going to be a virtual event, so it is up to you to decide where you would like to join us from.

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port  one (1) – five (5) approved apps – $100 per eligible app –to  a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Port five (5) – ten (10) approved apps – THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED (200) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS receive one (1) BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device plus $100
• Port ten (10) or more approved apps -  THE FIRST TEN (10) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS one (1) paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate  the launch of BlackBerry 10 with us plus a Dev Alpha Device as well as $100!!!
• Additionally for those that did not receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha, or Trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe, we will be conducting a random draw for one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alphas and ten (10) trips to BlackBerry Jam Europe.  All those who meet the criteria for a Dev Alpha  Device or the Trip but were not one of the firs 200 or 10 , respectively, to qualify, are eligible for the respective draws.

Get Ready to Port

Take advantage of the tips below to get a head start before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

Register

Submit your apps into BlackBerry World before BlackBerry 10 launches. Register for the Community Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 today!

Have Questions? See our FAQ.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/communityportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Limit one (1) Dev Alpha Device and one (1) Trip per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.    See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

Did you miss or would like to re-watch any of our past developer webcasts? Below is a summary of where to find all the recordings posted to date, along with a couple that are coming soon.

NFC-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• NFC overview (Native)
• NFC Tags BlackBerry® 10
• NFC Tags BlackBerry® 7

Cascades™-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• Astonishing UIs using the new BlackBerry 10 framework
• Astonishing UIs using the new BlackBerry 10 framework continued
• Cascades – everything you’ve always wanted to ask about retrieving, storing and displaying your Data – but were afraid to ask
• Building Compelling 3D Apps using Cascades and OpenGL ES

Native-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• BlackBerry Native Game Development

HTML5/BlackBerry® WebWorks™-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• Using the Dojo Toolkit in a BlackBerry WebWorks app Full Webcast
• BlackBerry 10 WebWorks Applications with the Enyo.js framework Full Webcast
• Exploring the use of bbUI.js for building a BlackBerry UI with HTML5

Coming soon!

• HTML5 Gaming (WebGL (3D), Audio, Social Integration (BBM™), Web Workers, Web Sockets)
• Building BlackBerry 10 apps with jQuery Mobile & backbone.js

Built for BlackBerry-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• 10k Developer Commitment
• Built For BlackBerry Part 1: User Benefit, User Experience, and System Integration
• Built For BlackBerry Part 2: Performance

Android-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• Running Android Applications on BlackBerry® PlayBook™ and BlackBerry 10

Alpha-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• Beta 3: Beta 3: BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK Update
• Beta 3: The Power of the Integrated Platform Emerges

Enterprise-related webcasts, specific webcast titles listed below:

• Enterprise App Developers: BlackBerry® Balance™ technology

The Marmalade webcast is hosted on the Marmalade site:

• BlackBerry game development with Marmalade SDK

I’m happy to announce a new offer that reinforces our commitment to gaming.  We are partnering with Marmalade to make it easy for developers to build new games for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and the upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

Qualified developers that register here will receive a free, time-limited Marmalade SDK license for the BlackBerry PlayBook platform and a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Once the developer has published their app to BlackBerry App World™, they will be able to unlock the cross-platform power of the Marmalade SDK and receive a free 6 month Marmalade Indie license.

Over the past few months we’ve shown the BlackBerry PlayBook to game developers at conferences and trade shows around the world.  Developers are excited and inspired after they see the power of the platform.  That’s reflected by the growth of the app catalogue on the BlackBerry PlayBook, with over 20,000 apps available and many new games like “Cut the Rope” which are made using the Marmalade SDK.

Game developers can leverage this offer to take advantage of the powerful gaming capabilities of the BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 and the first-to-market opportunity that the BlackBerry 10 platform provides.

Let’s play!

Take a look and let us know what you think:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]