Games [4Diversity] Jam 2016: I Believe!
March 26-27th – Easter Weekend 2016

Our society is the product of believes, life-styles and ideologies. These believes have brought people together, fostering harmonious communities of peace and prosperity. On the other side, these believes divided us, sprang civil wars and initiated grant revolutions.

Traditional Western beliefs have cultivated and fostered the way we play. Most obvious are the Fantasy-themed open worlds, which are rooted in western Folklore. Or the dystopian Science-Fiction-Action-RPGs, which correspond to Christian thoughts on an imminent apocalypse. Less obvious appears the insurmountable divide between ‘the good’ and ‘the evil’. This divide can be associated with Western ideologies about fairness and justice, and may elicit the ‘them vs. us’ play of competitive games.

In many ways, Western believes depict the way we play. It appears that designers seldom critically reflect upon their own believes, or how their implicit theory about society depicts their design decisions. We wonder if this can change…

In this year’s edition of the annual Games [4Diversity] Jam, we investigate less prominent believe systems. How can different (aspects of) believes, religions or ideologies change the way we play? Can a different perspective on live instantiate new and innovative games? And how can these games contribute to improved representation and inclusion of socio-cultural minorities in popular culture?

The Dominican Monastery is graciously hosting this year’s jam session. We hope this neo-Gothic church will inspire  developers to create new and innovative games!