Cultural Game Jam Model: A Quadruple Helix Intervention

The Cultural Game Jam Model presents an intervention developed under the EPIC-WE project, a Horizon Europe initiative that applies a Quadruple Helix framework linking a municipality, a games company, university researchers, and youth participants. Its central aim is to test whether a game jam structured around local culture can produce culturally meaningful games while sustaining participant engagement. The authors situate the model within a four-generation history of game jams and ground it in literature on the motivational power of game communities and the local value of jam outputs, as well as UK policy work on business-university collaboration.

The first intervention took place in Óbidos, Portugal, and drew more than 26 participants, most of them first-year Videogames students motivated by portfolio building, novelty, and interest in local culture. Participants rated the overall experience highly at 6.12 out of 7, with the venue and organization also scoring well. Accommodations were the clear weak point, rated 3.81 out of 7 due to poor preparation and unreliable internet access. The jam produced eight games, several of which drew directly on the village's physical setting.

The findings also reveal a key limitation. Although the event was designed around a literary theme, the resulting games engaged with it only superficially, indicating that the cultural dimension of the model depends on stronger facilitation than the first iteration provided. The authors conclude that future jams should invest more deliberately in cultural briefing and in logistical preparation, particularly for accommodation. Methodologically, the study combined pre- and post-jam surveys, interviews, and a post-mortem, with the event extended to 56 hours to accommodate research activities and an immersive village setting.