Game Jams as an Opportunity for Industry Development

This study examines whether game jams can strengthen community and lay groundwork for industry development in Tasmania, a small and isolated Australian state where the games sector has been weakly supported and poorly visible. Against a backdrop of a modest national games industry, the authors position game jams as a bottom-up mechanism for connecting isolated developers, arguing that community-building must precede any formal industry growth.

The investigation centers on two state-wide jams held in 2015: TasJam:Voices, Tasmania's first, which drew 60 participants forming 16 teams, and TasJam:Health, which drew 80 participants and produced 14 games over 32 hours. Post-event surveys achieved response rates of 45% and 36%, and the data were analysed descriptively. Participants were largely highly educated, young adults, and most were employed outside the games industry or were students, with fewer than 20% working in games. Prior to the jams, familiarity among local developers and interaction between them were low; afterward, familiarity rose markedly, with over 70% reporting increased familiarity, and most participants reported new professional and personal contacts and feeling closer to the Tasmanian development community.

Usefulness for identifying potential work partners was mixed. After the first jam, few participants found it valuable for this purpose, while after the second, roughly 43% rated it moderately or very useful, which the authors interpret as evidence that repeated exposure builds the trust needed for collaboration. Skills represented ranged from programming and design to art, writing, project management, and health expertise, with many participants reporting skill development during the events.

The study is explicitly described as early-stage and limited to a single region over a short period, relying on descriptive rather than inferential analysis, and it acknowledges that its findings are preliminary. The authors conclude that game jams show promise as a community-building tool and plan continued monitoring to test their potential for fostering a durable local games industry.