Game Jams: Social Impact Through Game Design

Game jams bring students together to ideate and collaborate on building a game in a short span of time. They give students with different skill sets a chance to create something meaningful, develop skills, receive mentorship, learn from a community and produce a substantial portfolio piece, and they offer a wonderful entry point into game development. Drawing on years of hosting game jams for high school and college students around the world using industry tools, this session shows how games can be a powerful vehicle for exploring social issues and teaching game design. Learn the value of game jams for engaging students in meaningful projects, how to host your own jam or join existing events like the Global Game Jam and the Games for Change Student Challenge, how to engage a supportive community, and how to bring students from different pathways together around their interests and strengths.