Another wonderful Cultural Game Jam has come to an end! From February 17th to 28th, 23 students from the Creative Research Minor at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences developed a total of eight impactful and creative games. Let’s look back at the third Hilversum Hub Game Jam!
That’s Not Fair!
The overarching theme of this cultural game jam was “That’s Not Fair!” — a thought-provoking theme emphasising that inequality is not merely an obstacle, but the foundation of the numerous societal systems that shape our lives. With ongoing crises related to climate, housing, and the cost of living, understanding fairness is now more crucial than ever. This Cultural Game Jam encouraged young game-makers to spark deeper, more playful, and empathetic conversations about what equality truly means to youth today.
Inspiration from digital archive, underground depots, and the Media Museum
To kick start their creativities, the participants visited the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision during the first week of the Game Jam. The institute manages an extensive and ever-growing media collection, with which everyone can learn, experience and create. In the digital archive, students engaged in a game of Archive Memory, where they explored a vast collection of media fragments—including over 200,000 public broadcaster videos—for inspiration.
In addition, the students also visited the underground depots of Sound & Vision. These rooms are filled with nostalgic radio and television memories. By exploring this historical and unusual collection of media artifacts, the students were further immersed in the history of Dutch media.
At the interactive Media Museum the students discovered everything about the influence of media on them and vice versa. In five exciting zones, they made their own news, experienced the power of advertising, and told stories like a filmmaker.
Photo collage: The young game-makers visiting Sound & Vision
Brainstorming and concepting
With freshly inspired minds, the participants started the second week of the Game Jam with several dynamic brainstorming activities, like 30 Circles and association games to fuel their creative thinking process. There was no shortage of good ideas! The groups settled on a unique angle tied to the theme of “That’s Not Fair!” and started shaping the concept for their games.
Paper prototypes and playtesting
With concepts ready, it was time to build! During the paper prototyping, all game concepts came to life. The students could visit the little EPIC-WE Shop to stock up on any materials they needed; from cardboard and paint to clay, wood, and glitter. Once every group had a first paper prototype finished, the teams play-tested each other’s games to find any pain points in game design and mechanics to improve.
Photo collage: Paper Prototyping and Play-testing
Experts, jury and final pitches
Beyond peer feedback, the participants received insights from industry experts and members of the EPIC-WE Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to refine their games further. After one last round of improvements, it was time for the final pitches! In a market place setting, each group presented a self-made game with societal impact to a professional jury.
The Games
Here is a glimpse of the eight games developed:
- The chance of your life: a multiplayer game about self-development and inequality. t four different characters to choose, players navigate setbacks while trying to get their PhD, gaining or losing self-development points along the way.
- The Neighbours: a board game designed to encourage young people to support lonely elderly individuals. Designed in such a way that you must work together collaboratively to win, the goal is to raise awareness about the many elderly people in the Netherlands who experience loneliness..
- The Otter Side: a board game that highlights how inequality is not just felt by humans but by animals too. This game immerses players in the world of otters, as each player fights to survive the many challenges otters face due to human activity, such as habitat loss, pollution, and accidents..
- Rigged Rails: a board game about class struggle, where players race to first class on a train while facing an unfair system. Players can earn money through luck, work, or crime—but your character’s background determines how easy or hard the journey will be.
- The Social Ladder: this game shows the difference between rich and poor by giving each player a unique character with special strengths and weaknesses. Rich characters have more chances to move forward, while poorer characters face more challenges. The game helps players understand how money and social differences can affect a person’s life.
- Viral Spiral: a strategy and social deduction game where players take on the role of influencers. The main goal of the game is to decide whether to share, report, or ignore news articles with their social media followers. Players need to maintain their reputation by sharing only truthful news and stopping fake news from spreading.
- Cyber Crisis: a game that transforms the notion of “That’s Not Fair” into a visceral, strategic experience. Every duel pits you against a formidable digital force that turns your own tweets, opinions, and online actions into unpredictable challenges. Fighting against cyberbullying and digital unfairness, to make a safer digital space for youth.
- The Race Through the Netherlands: a board game in which players travel across the country, passing through forests, villages, and industrial areas. The goal is to reach the finish line first, but along the way, players encounter challenges and opportunities that impact their progress.
Photo collage: The games developed during the Game Jam
With all these wonderful games, you can imagine how difficult it was for our jury to agree on the winning game. Therefore, we honoured multiple teams for their achievements! The award for Best Documentation was – of course, just take a look at their wonderful itch.io-page – for Cyber Crisis. Best Design was awarded to the beautiful and cute otter from The Otter Side. Last but not least, Best Prototype was awarded to Viral Spiral; the paper prototype was ready to play and ready to make impact!
