The Hilversum Hub is excited to share that our next Game Jam will be organized together with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), bringing in a total of about 30 third-year-students of the Digital Media & Creative Industries minor, Creative Research. The minor, which focuses on the importance of creative research methods to explore large and small societal issues, finds a perfect match with EPIC-WE, engaging the students first-hand in a form of creative research through game-making.
The Game Jam takes place February 17–28, 2025 on site at the Usability Lab of AUAS, and of course includes a visit to the Mediamuseum of Sound & Vision in Hilversum to draw inspiration from the media collections and materials there.
Program Highlights
Keeping the iterative nature of the EPIC-WE project in mind, this Game Jam will be spread out over the course of two weeks. During the first week, students will participate in an interactive workshop on Game Design 101, focusing on which elements are needed to create a game. In addition, the students will visit both the archive depots and the museum of Sound & Vision to get inspired.
The second week is where the Game Jam will actually happen; in teams, the students will come up with the concepts for their games, make paper prototypes and get feedback from our expert council. Of course, we will wrap up with pitches and awards!
Theme: “That’s Not Fair!”
In groups, the participants will produce games centered around the theme “That’s Not Fair!”. This theme seeks to explore inequality, which is not just an obstacle but the foundation of many systems that shape our lives. These imbalances influence how we access resources, interact with others, and envision our future. As the European Union faces increased polarisation and crises related to the climate, housing, and the cost of living, understanding fairness is more important now than ever. By exploring themes like the wealth gap, social inclusion, and climate justice using both games and culture, in this Game Jam we invite these young gamemakers to spark deeper, playful, and more empathetic conversations about what equality really means to young people today.
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 the AUAS minor Creative Research, allowing the students not only to be participants in the Game Jam but inviting them into the process of seeing a form of creative research being carried out first-hand.
