Program Highlights
The week holds a diverse and energizing program for these aspiring game developers:
Day 1: Introduction to Game Design
The cultural game jam begins with a participatory workshop on Game Design 101 focused on which elements are needed to create a game? Through different activities, the participants will discover how their favourite games sharethe same elements, which they can then use to build their own games.
Day 2: Inspiration at the Media Museum
On the second day, participants will visit the Media Museum at Sound & Vision in Hilversum, where they will explore how Sound & Vision interactive media collections engage with themes of democracy and social injustice. This visit will serve as inspiration for their game development. In addition, masterclasses will be given and there will of course be lots of time for brainstorming activities.
Day 3: A Creative Pause
On the third day it’s time for a break from the Game Jam so the students will be full of creativity and fresh for the next day.
Day 4: Prototyping and Expert Feedback
Day 4 will focus on paper prototyping. Experts will also join to take a look at the student’s games and with their feedback, help the students improve them.
Day 5: Playtesting and Presentations
Playtesting takes center stage on the last day of the Game Jam in which students will investigate which elements of their games work, and which need improvement. They’ll then prepare a pitch of their game and present this to their fellow game jammers and wider audience, followed by the award ceremony!
Themes
Media plays a profound role in shaping our everyday lives, influencing how we think and how we act. In today’s world, almost everyone is a media user and media creator. In the interactive Media Museum at Sound & Vision in Hilversum, you can discover everything about the influence of media on you and your influence on mediarsa. For this Game Jam, the student participants will explore this dynamic relationship and draw inspiration from the interactive exhibits of Sound & Vision’s Media Museum. They will focus on two central themes for their game creations:
- Media & democracy
- Media & social injustice
These themes will challenge students to consider how media can reflect and influence democratic processes and address societal inequalities. In their games, participants can use their creativity and also take inspiration from the museum and a master class that will be given to them on the topics.
Partners
The Hilversum Hub, a dynamic collaboration in the Netherlands, unites key partners: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) as a higher education research partner, Dropstuff Media representing the creative industries, and the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision (NISV) as a cultural heritage partner, bringing together expertise in value-sensitive design, cultural sensitivity, and societal belonging.
In this Game Jam, we collaborate with high school X11 in Utrecht, a school focused on media and design. This means that students who would like to develop themselves in the field of (graphic) design or digital media are right at home at the Game Jam.
About EPIC-WE
EPIC-WE is a Horizon Europe-funded project aiming to empower young people to participate in shaping European Culture and their own future by ‘imagining, creating and exchanging cultural values and heritage through game-making’. It focuses on exploring and developing new models for cultural collaboration, empowered participation, cultural processes and design kits for games through and for culture which can help establish culture hubs across Europe.
