Aims and Scope

The International Conference on Game Jams, Hackathons, and Game Creation Events invites scholars, educators, organizers and practitioners to contribute to the discourse on the multifaceted aspects of game jams and hackathons. This conference seeks to explore and advance the understanding of the dynamic and evolving landscape surrounding these collaborative, time-bound events.

Submissions are encouraged across a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

Communication during game jams and hackathons
Community building in and through game jams and hackathons
Team formation, group dynamics and collaboration during game jams and hackathons
Creativity and ideation during game jams and hackathons
Educational game jams and hackathons
Learning in game jams and hackathons, including studies on Problem Based Learning in game jams and hackathons
Participation in game jams and hackathons participation: who and why?
Game jam and hackathon outcomes and impacts
Organizing game jams and hackathons
Incentives and rewards in game jams and hackathons
Online game jams and hackathons
Rapid game development and prototyping
The role of tools and technology in game jams and hackathons
Critical studies of game jams and hackathons
Game jams and hackathons in different contexts: Education, industry, NGO’s, makerspaces etc.
Game jams and hackathons from different perspectives: Participants, organizers, volunteers, mentors, sponsors, stakeholders, non-participants etc.
Regional, national and international histories and characteristics of game jams and hackathons

Submission formats

ICGJ has four submission formats: full papers, short papers, event reports and interactive demos. For all submission formats and upon acceptance notification, we expect at least one of the authors to register and participate in the event in person (however, see below about the option of participating online).

Full paper

Full papers should be 6-8 pages long (excluding references) when in a double-column format, ready for publication in the conference proceedings.

Short paper

Short papers should be no more than 4 pages long (excluding references) when in a double-column format, ready for publication in the conference proceedings.

We invite contributions on all aspects of game jams and hackathons using scholarly methods. Papers will be reviewed on their relevance to the conference, clarity of writing and presentation, and their contribution to the field. Submissions can be full papers about results from novel research (up to 8 pages long, excluding references) or short papers describing works in progress or position papers (up to 4 pages long, excluding references). The length of the paper should align with the contribution.

Full and short paper submissions will undergo a double-blind review process (i.e., identification of authors or their institutions must not appear anywhere in the submission’s text). The previous conference proceedings have been published in the ACM Digital Library, the same is expected for 2023 after ACM approval. Paper submissions should use the double column ACM template which is available at https://www.acm.org/publications/taps/word-template-workflow. For using the Overleaf double collumn template, you can change the command "\documentclass[sigconf,authordraft]{acmart}" into "\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}"

Event report

Game jam or hackathon event reports are for organizers, practitioners and scholars who want to present a report on a game jam or a hackathon at the conference. We aim to provide a forum for presenting, sharing, and discussing interesting event concepts, approaches, formats and other elements of game jam and hackathon design. We are particularly interested in concepts to inspire organizers and educators to innovate new jam formats and improve existing methodologies. Papers will be reviewed on their relevance to the conference, clarity of writing and presentation, and their contribution to the field.

Event Reports should be no more than 4 pages (excluding references) when in a double-column format, ready for publication in the conference proceedings. Event report submissions will undergo a single-blind review process (i.e., identification of authors have to be in the text of the report). Accepted submissions will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Report submissions should use the double column ACM template which is available at https://www.acm.org/publications/taps/word-template-workflow. For using the Overleaf double collumn template, you can change the command "\documentclass[sigconf,authordraft]{acmart}" into "\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}"

ICGJ Event Report Structure Guide

The following are guidelines for the event report format. Based on our experience this structure works well, however it is not a requirement for acceptance to follow this structure.

Abstract: Provide a concise summary of your paper, including the main points and conclusions. This section should function as an executive summary, giving readers all the essential information in about 150 words.

Introduction: Begin with a general overview of the event, including relevant background information about your community and any historical context. Discuss the significance of game jams or hackathons and why your event is particularly interesting. Mention if the paper focuses on specific aspects of the event. Include references to relevant articles to support your background information.

Event Overview: Offer detailed background information about your event. Describe its origin, duration, and format (hybrid, onsite, online). Include information about participants’ demographics, the organizers, and how the event is managed. Provide insights into the event schedule and highlight notable games or prototypes produced. Ensure this section is comprehensive enough for readers unfamiliar with the event.

Key Lessons: Detail the lessons and insights gained from the event. Explain how these conclusions were reached, whether through surveys, observations, or other methods. Include a descriptive title for this section and consider summarizing key points in bullet form.

Discussion: Discuss potential improvements and future directions for the event. Compare your event to similar ones and reflect on what aspects you wish to emphasize in the future. Include any additional background information that might explain your perspective, such as your experience with organizing game jams or hackathons. Consider referencing relevant event reports from past ICGJ conferences.

Conclusion: Summarize the key points and conclusions of your paper. Emphasize the importance of the event and the insights gained, mirroring the abstract but in a more detailed manner.

References: List all articles, papers, and sources cited in the introduction and throughout the text. Ensure you include relevant event reports from past ICGJ conferences if applicable.

Interactive demo track

Do you have an interesting game or prototype that was made (or started) during a game jam or hackathon? Do you have insights about generating interesting ideas and developing them into prototypes that may be useful to the ICGJ community? Can you describe and demo it? Where event reports focus on the process and formats of game jams and hackathons, the interactive demo track focus on the outcome of game jams and hackathons. This track is for organizers, practitioners and scholars who want to present an interactive outcome (a prototype, a game or something else) from a game jam or a hackathon at the conference. The goal is to recognize games and playful projects that best demonstrate what is possible to accomplish during a game jam or hackathon.

Demo submissions should be no more than 4 pages (excluding references) when in a double-column format, ready for publication in the conference proceedings. There should be a link to an online video of the demo, for example a link to an itch.io page, youtube or similar. Similar to Event reports, demo submissions will undergo a single-blind review process (i.e., identification of authors have to be in the text of the paper). Accepted submissions will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Demo submissions should use the double column ACM template which is available at https://www.acm.org/publications/taps/word-template-workflow. For using the Overleaf double collumn template, you can change the command "\documentclass[sigconf,authordraft]{acmart}" into "\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}"

Criteria for Selection for the Interactive demo track:

What insights and interesting takeaways you have for the ICGJ community (game jam and hackathon participants, game jam and hackathon organizers, game jam and hackathon scholars, etc.) about but not limited to for example generating interesting ideas and developing them into prototypes during game jams and hackathons
Insights may be about but not limited to tools, materials development process, assets, development environment or technology

Interactive Demo/Game Report Structure Guide

Abstract: Offer a concise overview of your game or interactive demo, detailing its main features and objectives. Mention the specific game jam or hackathon where it was developed to provide context. This section serves as an executive summary, encapsulating all essential information within about 150 words.

Introduction: Provide background information about the game jam or hackathon where your project was developed, detailing its setup, duration, and format (hybrid, onsite, online). Discuss the significance of game jams or hackathons and the context within which your project was created. Additionally, explain why the game or demo is interesting, whether it introduces a new kind of game, experiment in technology, or offers unique features that set it apart from others.

Game/Demo Overview: Offer detailed information about your game or interactive demo, focusing on its genre, theme, platform(s), and key gameplay mechanics or interaction design. Describe the storyline, characters, setting, key features, materials, controls and innovations. Provide images, such as screenshots of gameplay or user interfaces.

Development Process: Detail the development process of your project, including the team structure, tools, methodologies used, and any challenges faced.

User Experience and Feedback: Discuss the user experience and feedback received, if applicable. Explain how playtesting or user testing was conducted, what insights were gained, and any changes made based on user feedback. Alternatively, explore other aspects such as the technology of the game or demo or any special features it offers.

Discussion: Reflect on the impact of your project and potential improvements. Compare it to similar projects and discuss what aspects you wish to emphasize or change in future endeavors.

Conclusion: Summarize the key points and conclusions of your report, emphasizing the significance of your project and the insights gained from its development process.

References: List all articles, papers, and sources cited in the introduction and throughout the text. Include any relevant reports or papers from past ICGJ conferences if applicable.

Important dates

June 19 June 28: Paper submission deadline (short and full papers, and event reports)

August 28: Acceptance notifications

September 25: Camera ready deadline

October 10: Pre-conference event

October 11: Conference

All deadlines are at the Anywhere on Earth (AoE) UTC-12 time zone.

Participating Online

We acknowledge that not everyone can travel to Denmark: to ensure inclusiveness of the conference, we will consider a limited number of paper presentations to be online if authors contact us about this before the submission deadline explaining why their paper presentation needs to be online. At least one of the presenters is expected to register for the event, send a short video (10 minute) presentation of their paper according to the camera ready deadline and be available for a live Q&A session at the time of the conference.

Submit papers here

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