On November 4th, GI member Dr. Lai-Tze Fan (Sociology and Legal Studies) and Dr. Jon Saklofske hosted a game jam workshop where participants explored how game environments and tools can encourage players and developers to pursue broader social, cultural, and interpersonal understandings.
In groups and by individuals, participants prototyped interactive and playful experiences that featured a values-based, self-conscious, and self-critical encounter with social identity formation and identity politics. They were encouraged to reflect on how they were constructing identity within the game through character creation and also through the game mechanics. The creations raised questions of identity and representation in games and character building.