The Hilversum Hub is excited to announce the fourth and final EPIC-WE Cultural Game Jam! Working with heritage materials related to water from Sound & Vision’s audiovisual archives, participants will craft games that ask: What happens to democracy in a flood? Who gets to decide who stays or goes? Can heritage survive underwater — and if not, what new traditions might surface? Whether building floating cities, retreating inland, or defending fragile homes, through storytelling, design, and playful experimentation, this game jam will invite young makers to imagine the ethical landscapes of tomorrow, and invent games that carry those questions forward.
The Cultural Game Jam will take place Wednesday September 10 – Tuesday September 16, 2025 in collaboration with students Communication and Multimedia Design, Immersive Design, from the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Rediscover the past, reimagine the future: Tides of Heritage
History is never truly in the past — it’s a living story, shaped and reshaped by those who tell it. By reflecting on the past, we can make sense of today and imagine the future. In this game jam participants will work with real cultural heritage materials related to water — from photographs to audio and video clips from the past — to craft interactive game worlds where heritage bends, twists, and collides with the unexpected. What is the impact of water on our living conditions? And on the most important EU Values like freedom? What will the future look like with rising sea levels to come? Through remixing heritage, we don’t just explore the past, we reflect on the values that define us today and the legacies we leave for tomorrow.
Program Highlights
This time around, the game jam will take place over four days. Through various activities and a Remix & Water Workshop playing with cultural heritage materials from Sound & Vision on Day 1, participants will dive right in! The second and third day are all about paper prototyping and playtesting sessions, including a playtest with our expert panel. On the last day, there will be time for finishing touches and preparing a pitch. Of course, we will wrap up the game jam with participant presentations and awards!
Partners
The Hilversum Hub, a dynamic collaboration in the Netherlands, unites three 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.
For this Cultural Game Jam, we collaborate with the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. A group of about 20 to 25 students from the course Immersive Design will get together to draft games with European Values related to water at its core.
