The organized creative campaigns known as “game jams” have been happening for 15 years, and by now are so common that dozens seem to be happening on any given day. Earlier this month, though, a new one joined the crowd: Resist Jam was a seven-day event in which developers from around the world created games about oppression, tyranny, and how we fight it. “The global political climate grows increasingly terrifying by the day,” says the jam’s website. “We want to empower people to resist through the power of interactive media.” The event produced over 200 entries, but we’ve picked out five that caught our eye, all of which can be played on just about any computer you’ve got, no gaming experience required. (Cheap netbook? Bring it on!). Given that these were built in under a week, you can expect some bugs here and there—but you can also expect find some fascinating meditations on authoritarianism and its consequences.
The organized creative campaigns known as “game jams” have been happening for 15 years, and by now are so common that dozens seem to be happening on any given day. Earlier this month, though, a new one joined the crowd: Resist Jam was a seven-day event in which developers from around the world created games about oppression, tyranny, and how we fight it. “The global political climate grows increasingly terrifying by the day,” says the jam’s website. “We want to empower people to resist through the power of interactive media.” The event produced over 200 entries, but we’ve picked out five that caught our eye, all of which can be played on just about any computer you’ve got, no gaming experience required. (Cheap netbook? Bring it on!). Given that these were built in under a week, you can expect some bugs here and there—but you can also expect find some fascinating meditations on authoritarianism and its consequences.