As part of Digiverse: How to Read Media, the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata organized a three-day online game jam session in collaboration with the Cologne Game Lab at the Technische Hochschule Köln. The session aimed to develop browser-based and print-and-play games centered around the theme of media literacy.
The Media Game Jam took place from November 29, 2023, to December 1, 2023. Nine teams from South Asia and six teams from the Cologne Game Lab participated, guided by mentors including Dr. Souvik Mukherjee, Satyajit Chakraborty, Yadu Rajiv from India, and Professor Sonia Fizek from the Cologne Game Lab. By the end of the jam, eleven playable games were developed.
An international jury, consisting of Dr. Souvik Mukherjee, Professor Sonia Fizek, Professor Greta Hoffman, and Thorsten Wiedemann, selected winners from both regions. The South Asian winner was Venkat Pingli Ram Reddy for his game ECorp. Meanwhile, the Cologne Game Lab winner was Tray Ramm and Simon Grunwald for their game The Ministry.
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata along with the winners were present at the A MAZE. / Berlin 13th International Games and Playful Media Festival from 8th to 11th May 2024 to showcase the Media Game Jam.
All three winners presented their games and engaged with gamers and developers at the festival. Surjodoy Chatterjee, Head of Library and Information, Goethe-Institut Kolkata, took part in a panel discussion on “Empowering the world through games, one country at a time” with colleagues from Goethe-Institutes from Abidjan, Bratislava, Johannesburg, and Prague.
