At the PlayBern Festival for Games and Creativity the wider theme this year us  "Games with a migration background". Do you know games that have a direct local connection outside of Switzerland and that tell something about a specific region or place? Get inspired and share your own stories in the form of a fun and accessible game! Join us online or in our exciting new location at the PROGR cultural centre in Bern, Switzerland, to participate in the PlayBern Game Jam.

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What makes this Game Jam special?

🧠Now in it's third year, the goal of the PlayBern Game Jam is to raise awareness by making video game concepts and prototypes, which are especially accessible in consideration of a range of physical and mental disabilities. 

🌐 Through our partners Tatkraft, we can test special hardware controllers and get valuable feedback and tips from experts on the subject. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world's population has some kind of impairment which may restrict access to games.

🕹️ During the Game Jam, new game concepts will be conceptualized, designed, published and played at the PlayBern festival in the Swiss capital, as well as on itch.io - a global platform for indie game developers. It's all about the street cred, right?

👨‍💻 Programming skills are not required: creative ideas are implemented in teams, supported by experienced designers, game makers are allowed. Participation is free of charge, thanks to our sponsors. Get your game on!

🎉 Join us on location at PROGR for free snacks, refreshments and festival atmosphere. The Game Jam at PlayBern will provide you with a workbench, design materials, and interesting machines to experiment with. Goody.

💬 Send us your questions in the forum, or chat online with us on Discord if you need a hand. It is possible to join the kick-off and presentations virtually, and to submit your entry online. If you're resident in Switzerland, we can even post you some swag.

🎥 Watch our 2 minute video of game jam action, play our 2020 and 2021 results.

🌐 Wir sprechen auch Deutsch ~ Nous parlons français ~ We speak English.

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Workshops

In addition to an exciting new location and amazing festival program, this year's Game Jam will be supported by experienced game jammers who will kick off the event with introductions to the latest tools and techniques. On Saturday, we will be powered up by Solarski Studio, who will run a Sensory Game Design workshop to help us take the first steps of turning the dream of making a game into reality with powerful insights and design hacks. See the schedule for details.

Books by Chris Solarski at solarskistudio.com/books

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Schedule

                         FRIDAY
Festival doors open -- 02.09.2022 --- 18:00 - 22:00
Checkpoint α --------- 02.09.2022 --- 20:00 - 21:00 (Intro to Game Jams)
                        SATURDAY
Festival doors open -- 03.09.2022 --- 10:00 - 22:00
SGD Workshop --------- 03.09.2022 --- 13:00 - 16:00 (Sensory Game Design)
Checkpoint β --------- 03.09.2022 --- 16:00 - 17:00 (Check in on our progress)
Workshop results ----- 03.09.2022 --- 17:00 - 17:30 (Presentations & exchange)
                         SUNDAY
Festival doors open -- 04.09.2022 --- 10:00 - 18:30
Checkpoint γ --------- 04.09.2022 --- 11:00 - 12:00 (Hike up to the summit view)
Submissions due ------ 04.09.2022 --- 13:37 - 16:00 (Absolutely no extensions ;)
Presentations -------- 04.09.2022 --- 16:00 - 17:00 (5 minute demo, 5 minute Q&A)

All times are CEST UTC+2. Livestream links will be shared in the forum and chat.

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Rules

The Game Jam will begin at the Kick-off of the Festival. We can help to form teams on location as well as on Discord chat or online Forum. Please develop your games using newly created or openly licensed and properly attributed content. At the finish of the Game Jam, the Presentations will take place on site and livestreamed. Let us know in the chat if you would like to present over a videoconference.

Anyone can take part in the Game Jam, both on location and online submissions are accepted on itch.io/jam/playbern and showcased at the discretion of the organizers. Participants under 18 must generally be accompanied by an adult guardian. A PlayBern Festival ticket or day pass is required to take part on location.

Map of the PROGR location (GeoAdmin)

In addition to a fun and collaborative Game Jam, we also want to keep it safe and open to all. We adhere to the Global Game Jam Code of Conduct to set expectations for the community both online and at jam locations. Please be excellent to each other, extra considerate and respectful - and keep in mind that this is a family-friendly event, so any inappropriate content will have to be removed.

For all other information concerning the Festival visit PlayBern.ch

Contact us on Discord or Twitter if you have any questions

Photo by Oleg Lavrovsky, CC BY-SA 4.0