Help us empower at-risk youth from Watsonville, and Salinas, and connect our communities through games!
Video games are a uniquely powerful medium to communicate feelings and ideas, but still has a ways to go with diversity and inclusion. With the Trump presidency looming, it is imperative that we support marginalized youth and their families and empower them to tell their stories. This Game Jam is a statement of solidarity, a united community in defiance of those who want to silence our voices.
Games can empower, unite, and change minds!
Take part in a weekend-long Game Jam for youth (Dec 10-11th), culminating in a live-streamed community showcase open to friends and family! This unique event will bring together Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Salinas to learn how to create games for self-expression in a fun, dynamic format.
Help us connect and empower our communities through games!
Join us this December 10th and 11th and let's use our game design skills to connect with one another and show the impact video games can have in the world.
UCSC folks: Transportation and food will be provided! And if you need a place to stay during that weekend, we will arrange lodging for you!
Locations
Digital NEST (Watsonville, CA) + Alisal High School (Salinas, CA)
Organizers
Marcelo Viana Neto, Instructor/Organizer, Salinas location
radicalplay@radicaplay.org
Artist, designer, and educator with over 15 years experience in the field. BFA in Graphic Design from the California College of the Arts and MFA in Digital Arts and New Media from UC Santa Cruz. Part-time instructor of the Game Design Institute at the Digital NEST and creator of Radical Play.
Matthew R. F. Balousek, Instructor/Organizer, Watsonville location
mbalousek@gmail.com
Independent game developer with a BS in Computer Science from UC Santa Cruz and MFA candidate in Digital Arts and New Media also at UC Santa Cruz. Contract instructor of the Game Design Institute at the Digital NEST. Organizer of the UCSC Global Game Jam, SlugJam, and the Santa Cruz Retreat for Analog Play.
Digital NEST Members and Staff
Alisal High School Staff
You!
Game Jam Details
The jam will be held at the same time at the Digital NEST and Alisal High School. It will be organized by UCSC volunteer-organizers, Digital NEST youth members and staff. At the end of the Game Jam, teams will showcase their work to family and friends in a live video stream shared between the two locations.
Participants will form teams and will participate in a series of playful activities that explore the theme of games for self-expression. By both playing and making, they will make games of their own and learn programming concepts. We will use a mix of physical (pen + paper) and digital tools (Twine and Javascript) to introduce the process of creating games that communicate feelings or ideas.
Schedule
Saturday, Dec 10th
Arrive to set up, 9am
Game Jam, 12-5pm
Sunday, Dec 11th
Arrive to set up, 10am
Game Jam, 12-5pm
Community Showcase, 5-7:30pm
Notes
- If you have an idea for how to make this event better, please contact Marcelo at radicalplay@radicalplay.org.
- The event is funded by Infosys and is organized by the Digital NEST and the instructors.
- This is a pilot effort for future collaborations between UCSC games folks + Digital NEST + Santa Cruz and Monterey County non-profit organizations. If we make it awesome, more events like this and other opportunities will be possible in the future!