Welcome, Jammers!

(Please remember to sign up here for this Jam after reading the information!)

Have you thought about/questioned your gender identity, and/or explored aspects of this, or do you have an interest in thinking about how people could be supported in this process?

Do you enjoy playing or making games? Do you think games can help support identity exploration? Are you interested in thinking about how games represent or address gender, if they are inclusive, and how they can be designed differently?

This game jam is part of a study to understand the role that technology can play in helping people explore aspects of gender/ identity.  Everyone has different experiences and ways of relating to this. We want to explore how bringing in an aspect of playfulness can help provide a safe space and opportunities to use various strategies/techniques/modalities for individuals to explore different aspects of gender/identity. 

What if some games, and the more general concept of ‘play’ not only provide outlets for entertainment but also function as means for creative expression, as instruments for conceptual thinking, or as tools to help examine or work through social issues? (Flanagan, 2009)

We think playful technologies such as games can be powerful tools for identity exploration – play can facilitate embodied experiences through its various mechanics and some players have reported that games have been really helpful as part of their journey of understanding themselves.

We are hosting this event to explore, reflect on and celebrate different journeys and mechanisms for exploring/understanding/expressing gender and it’s multiple dimensions through designing games; to see how ‘strategies’ or experiences for exploration or understanding concepts related to gender can be translated or understood in a playful context, and to explore notions of inclusivity in games.

If this sounds interesting to you, we’d love for you to take part in this game jam!

What does this involve?

Individually or in your own teams, we invite you to speculate on games and gender exploration. We will provide further prompts/design activities that may help you brainstorm ideas.

We are mostly interested in the ideation – the ideas and concepts rather than the final product – so do not worry about the game itself being a refined prototype.

If you are excited to develop a game on this theme and want to create a polished prototype with your team or individually – that’s great!

If you would prefer to think through potential designs alone and submit your thoughts inspired by the prompts through creating a game design document, or filling out the other design activities we will send - that's also great! Either way, we would like to celebrate these ideas by uploading your prototype/design ideas for others to interact with or view.

This is not competitive, and so submissions will not be ranked. Teams/Individuals who submit will be entered into a raffle for vouchers.

If you do not want to make a game, but have some experience with jamming/game dev, we are also looking for mentors who can help support participants by being around in the Discord and answering any questions! Indicate this in the sign-up if you're interested.

Who can take part?

To take part, you must be over the age of 18. Ideally, you will have an interest in games (playing, making, thinking about game design etc.), whether you are an aspiring game maker, an independent developer, student, professional or hobbyist. You may have explored/thought about gender (or have an interest in this) – regardless of your identity. We are not gatekeeping your experience around your identity/relationship with gender – we would love as many different people as possible to get involved!

We hope to involve a range of participants with different experiences and expertise in game development – so do not worry if you do not have a ton of experience. If you do not have access to tools, there is a whole host of free tools/resources that we will share/ask experienced jammers to share. If something would help make taking part more accessible, we have a limited budget so you are welcome to get in touch before the event kicks off.  Everyone taking part must read and adhere to the Code of Conduct. You may also suggest additions to this document by getting in touch with us. Most importantly, this includes being respectful to each other, and not forcing anyone to disclose anything about themselves.

If you are interested, this is a summary of what would happen next:

• Make sure you read the Code of Conduct, information sheet and consent form (available for you to download and keep)
• If you have any particular needs that may help you take part, shoot us an email (leya.george.14@ucl.ac.uk, aneesha.singh@ucl.ac.uk) letting us know what you would need and if applicable, any costs involved, and we'll see if we can help.
• Otherwise, fill out this sign up survey
• We will then send you the consent form online for you to sign - you must sign this in order to take part, so let us know if you have any questions up till then! You will also be asked to fill out a short demographic form.
• You will be invited onto the Discord server, and we will send you the prompts/optional design activities closer to the start date
• Once the Jam starts, you will have until the end of the 11th October to develop your game (and/or complete the design activities), and submit it.
• For those who have submitted something, you will be entered into a prize draw. 
• We may invite you to a follow-up interview, where we can reflect on the event and the games/ideas - you will receive a voucher for taking part in the interview

Just to confirm, you must fill in the sign-up survey in order for us to send you the consent form to sign, and a link to the Discord server. If you do not do this, you will not be eligible to take part and win any vouchers!

This event has approval from the UCL ethics board, and is also being supported by the UCL Grand Challenges scheme.

Some submission rules:

Heavy/mature content and themes are allowed. However, please put appropriate content warnings. Consider how you handle potentially sensitive subjects - content should align by our Code of Conduct. So, for example while you may want to explore topics such as stigma and discrimination - your game should not be made for the purpose of discriminating and causing harm to others. We reserve the right to remove your submission if it fails to meet this guideline.

You can use pre-made assets, as long as you have the legal rights to do so.

Are there any type of games/submissions that are prohibited? No! Digital or physical games are welcome. If you would like explore a particular mechanic/feature (instead of making a full game), that is also welcome. If you would like to share your ideas through protoypes, or sketches, that is also welcome! If you do not want to make a game, but are still interested in this topic, you could still get involved in this project by taking part in our design activities, and indicating whether or not you are interested in taking part in an interview after submitting this.

You can join and finish at any point during the time frame of the jam.