Bridging Divides Game Jam

Interested in picking up some new skills in Game Design? The Bridging Divides Game Jam is a weekend-long event for migrants looking to gain new skills in game development. Learn to use different, beginner-friendly game engines, create original 2D art assets, and collaborate with a team to make your first game or to add another game to your portfolio! Everything you'll need is covered: optional pre-jam workshops are offered to introduce any beginners to different kinds of game creation and experienced mentors will guide and support you through the jam.

Bridging Divides Research
This event belongs to a larger research initiative exploring the effectiveness of Game Jams in re/skilling migrants. Participants will be asked to complete a mandatory pre-jam survey, a mandatory post-jam survey, and if they are interested will participate in a scheduled interview after the jam.

What is a Game Jam?
A game jam is a weekend-long event in which participants either go solo or form a team to make a game. Our event will be take place over the course of two days:

• DAY 1: February 7th (9am to 10pm)
• DAY 2: February 8th (9am to 7pm)

On the second day, the jam itself will finish at 5pm. From 5pm to 6pm we will have a showcase in which participants will get the chance to play each other's games and from 6pm to 7pm we will have closing ceremonies.

The research we're conducting specifically looks at the effectiveness of game jams to assist migrants in gaining vital soft and hard skills for entering a new professional domain. We hope that this jam will facilitate participants in acquiring skills needed to enter the game development profession as well as assist in research investigating barriers to professional development for migrants to montreal and barriers in general to acquiring skills for game development.

Our theme is BRIDGES! To build, to break, to connect, to navigate. Bridges can be infrastructures that connect different places or different people, but they can also be pathways to new information, they can be dangerous obstacles to overcome, a musical finale, or the thing that connects the tip of your nose to your face. Bridges are often liminal, and, as such, can take on different meanings and purposes in our lives. The theme is yours to interpret!

A Game Jam's theme is meant to help inspire you to build your game: feel free to use it however you'd like (or do something completely different)!

Who is this event for?
This jam is specifically for migrants with any level of experience in game design looking to make their first game, add a new game to their portfolio, and/or gain new skills in game development. The jam is a place specifically carved out to help re/skill migrants that are interested in starting their careers in the game industry. This event is a great place to pickup new skills, not only for the fact that the jam will give you a space to create a game but also that you will receive support both from the optional pre-jam workshops and the team of dedicated, experienced mentors present during the jam itself with expertise across different game creation engines and practices to guide and support you through the creation of your game.

Pre-Jam Workshops
Four free, optional workshops will be offered to participants to learn a variety of skills before the jam itself. These workshops will be hosted both in-person and online. An email will be sent out to participants in January to sign up for any or all workshops. Note that these workshops are optional: they only exist for anyone interested in their content.

• 2D Art Introduction
• Introduction to Game Jams
• Bitsy Engine Introduction
• Twine Engine Introduction