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Jamming Game Jams: A Discussion of Research-Through-Game-Jam-Design
Key insights
6 takeaways- 01Game jams are increasingly being utilized as formal research-through-design methods to generate knowledge, foster community, and study participant decision-making beyond traditional survey-based data collection.See it on page 3
- 02Researchers are testing specialized jam structures, such as 'Documentation Jams' that record design progress or 'Crime Scene Jams' where facilitators interrupt participants to capture evidence of their design process.See it on page 3
- 03The 'Least Game, Jam' model encourages participants to create minimal game units to explore the core understanding of specific topics, while 'Paratext Jams' focus on creating supplementary materials to generate 'gaming capital' for non-existent games.See it on page 3
- 04Game jams serve as 'counterventions' that allow researchers to challenge dominant socio-technical paradigms by privileging the lived expertise of marginalized or excluded communities.See it on page 3
- 05Integrating research into game jams requires balancing rigorous data collection and the observation of participant priorities with the need to maintain the fun and personal growth aspects of the jam experience.See it on page 3
- 06The panel emphasizes that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' mode for research-through-game-jam-design, advocating instead for a variety of provocative structures to suit different research questions.See it on page 3
Summary
GARDNER, D.L., KIRMAN, B., BATES, O., MUNIR, V. and BROWN, J.N. 2026. Jamming games jams: a discussion of research-through-game-jam-design. In Buruk, O., Cmentowski, S., Klarkowski, M. et al. (eds.) CHI-PLAY companion '26: companion proceedings to the 2026 annual symposium on Computer-human interaction in play (CHI PLAY 2026), 2-5 November 2026, York, UK. New York: ACM [online], pages 561-564.
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