Cultural Game Jam Model: A Quadruple Helix Intervention

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.18.1.2642

Keywords:

Game Jams, Cultural Games, Quadruple Helix, Cultural Game Jam

Abstract

The EPIC-WE Cultural Game Jam: Óbidos UNESCO City of Literature (CGJ) was a purposeful game jam, and part of the EPIC-WE Horizon-Europe project. CGJ empowers youth to participate through ideating cultural worlds, by creating and exchanging cultural values and heritage through game-making (game jams experience), within the Quadruple Helix (QH) Cultural Innovation Ecosystem.

The study is focused on the specific presence of jammers at the game jam venue, within the cultural spaces and cultural agents. Describing the development of unique Game Jams applying the QH model, linking a municipality region, a games company, university researchers, and a youth focus group to foster the production of games for culture and games through culture.

With extensive experience in organising game jams since 2014, the researchers confronted the literature review study focused on youth empowerment and cultural game jams (Costa, et al., 2024), ensuring the project research protocols to define a model for 4 game jams to be held from 2024 to 2025. The ongoing research demonstrates the creation of a research protocol for the 1st CGJ model: student recruitment; Pre-Game Jam with the theme reveal and ideation; Game Jam activities and conditions; Reflection Day; Data collection; Post-Mortem analysis; CCIs games evaluation; and future outcomes.

8 games produced on the 1st CGJ demonstrated the effectiveness of the CGJ model for cultural purposes. Besides the cultural theme limitation, participants (N=26) evidenced a high level of satisfaction evidenced in the final survey. Several recommendations for improvement were given (survey reflection 2) and outlined so that future CGJs can produce games that delve more deeply into the topics covered.

Author Biographies

Filipe Luz, Hei-Lab / Lusófona University

Filipe Luz (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-8417) (Ph.D) is the Director of the Erasmus Mundus REPLAY: The European Game Design Masters”, of the Master Programme Game Design and Playable Media” and of the Videogames Ba studies. He is the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator in several International Projects and he lectures digital post-production for film, games, and animation.

Wilson Almeida, Lusófona University

Wilson Almeida (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0357-6892) is a Game Designer and teacher at the Videogames Ba, Game Design and Playable Media and Erasmus Mundus REPLAY Master Programmes at Universidade Lusófona.

Since 2014 he has been organising game jams, in collaboration with multiple companies, higher education and research institutions, namely Microsoft, Miniclip and the Champalimaud Foundation.

Pedro Fernandes, Hei-Lab / Lusófona University

Pedro M. A. Fernandes (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6676-882X) is a PhD Student in Media Arts and Communication. His main research interests include game design, horror games, and independent games. He also works as a researcher on projects related to applied/serious games at Lusófona University’s HEI-Lab.

Micaela Fonseca, Hei-Lab / Lusófona University

Micaela Fonseca (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7946-4825) (Ph.D) is a Principal Researcher at HEI-Lab R&D unit, HEI-Lab Vice-Director and Wellbeing Interactivity Nexus Coordinator: research group in games and psychology. Micaela has been engaged in several VR-applied games and co-founded VR4NeuroPain and Games for Good. 

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Published

2024-10-07