Developers around the world are coming together for an activist game jam. Called #ResistJam, the online event cites the perceived increase of authoritarianism in the United States and abroad. Organizers say the event is a creative response to the potential rise of fascism.
“We want to find ways that game developers can be active toward what we consider the very oppressive and potentially fascist policies that are coming out of the U.S. and other countries right now,” says Tyler Coleman, the Austin-based developer known for the iOS game Merchant and other projects.
The jam has the support, and the sponsorship, of both the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and IndieCade. Several high-profile game developers will also lend their expertise, including Ron Gilbert (Maniac Mansion, Thimbleweed Park) and Rami Ismail (Nuclear Throne, Luftrausers).
The goal of the jam will be to produce games that confront authoritarianism and the abuse of power, with non-violent games encouraged.
“We have billions of dollars’ worth of games that are all about going out and killing Nazis,” said Coleman. “I don't think we need a bunch of game jam games for that. But we don't have many games like Parable of the Polygons and Papers, Please and Cart Life and all these very specific experience that explore issues in our society. So that's what we're really trying to create and engage people to create.”
The website for the game jam goes further, noting that games about “self-care, personal experiences, and activism are all absolutely valid methods of expression.”
Organizer Damon Reece, a developer from Australia whose portfolio includes Starbound and Hacknet: Labyrinths, says that the jam is a response to developers wanting to use their unique skills to make their voices heard.
“How can we make a difference that is beyond the standard forms of getting involved?” Reece said. “We can call our senators, we can go to protests, but what is it that game developers specifically can do that is unique to us? To me, a game jam seemed like the first and easiest thing.”
The jam format is unusual for many reasons, not the least of which is that there is no prior game development experience required. According to #ResistJam, organizers will be providing “mentorship and workshops from experienced members of the game industry to make sure that as many people as possible can participate, no matter their skill level.”
“A bunch of them are just about game dev, pixel art and interactive narrative,” said Reece, who will be trying to record as many of the workshops as possible for wider distribution. “But we've also got ones about accessibility, representation — especially queer representation and chronic illness representation. We've got one about using found art to make Unity games, a music seminar and seminars on the Game Maker toolset.”
Developers who plan to present workshops or curate entries from the jam include Ismail and Gilbert, but also John Krajewski (Strange Loop Games, Eco), Rob Jagnow (Lazy 8 Studios, Cogs), Matt Hall (Might Games, Crossy Road). Also presenting will be Erik Martin and Mark Deloura, two men with connections to the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Other speakers and their topics will be finalized soon, organizers said. The jam will be virtual, and participants are free to take part from anywhere in the world. Seminars will be held online, and all communications will be coordinated through a Discord server.
Helping provide visibility for the event are its media sponsors, which include IGDA and IndieCade.
Kate Edwards is the executive director of the IGDA. She told Polygon that she has a professional connection to the issues of authoritarianism, nationalism and fascism.
In the days after President Trump’s election, Edwards wrote in a post on Facebook that game developers “wield an amazing, powerful medium to affect hearts and minds — to educate, to enlighten, to expand horizons, and to help people experience life through others' eyes.
“If you want another outcome,” she wrote, “if you want to make a difference, then wield that power and in the long-term.”
Edwards told Polygon that in her role with the IGDA she regularly works with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security that overseas visa programs. She has personally signed more than 300 advisory letters on behalf of immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. to work in the industry. She sees recent moves by the Trump administration to limit immigration as a direct threat to the game industry.
“This whole issue underscores the fact that we, as an industry, need to be prepared to advocate on our behalf and on behalf of those who don’t really have the voice,” Edwards said. “I think this is another event that shows that the game industry can and should be vocal about social issues because games as an art form and as a medium have a lot to say and a lot to be leveraged as an educational tool.”
Edwards told Polygon that the IGDA is also leading efforts for a formal rally outside the Game Developers Conference to protest these same issues. Permits are pending with the city of San Francisco.
IndieCade, an organization that supports independent developers specifically and hosts multiple festivals around the U.S., has also signed on to support #ResistJam.
“So many parts of the agenda of the global authoritarianism flies in the face of what we try to do,” IndieCade’s chief executive officer Stephanie Barish wrote Polygon in an email. “Like the indie game industry, we collaborate across borders, as partners, embracing differences and finding creative solutions to problems. Closing minds and borders is an affront to everything we stand for. ... We at IndieCade feel as though game devs and digital creators, with all our advantages, need to step up and confront these powers, and we believe we all will.”
#ResistJam is not without its detractors, say organizers.
“We’ve actually been getting a decent amount of attention from the ‘alt-right,’” Coleman said, referring to an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism. “It’s very gratifying. The more the ‘alt-right’ cares about you, the more good you’re doing in the world.
For that reason, the website includes options for those who want to participate anonymously. It also encourages those publicly involved to take their online and real-life safety seriously during and after the event, and gives advice on how to do so.
“The general idea is that they are upset that we're making games to resist fascism. Within our media, within our copy, we say nothing about any particular political leaders. We're not directly mentioning Trump or Brexit or anything like that. We're just saying, ‘This is games against authoritarianism,’ and yet still they are very interested in kind of co-opting our event.”
#ResistJam runs from March 3 until March 11. Registration information is available on Itch.io.