Future-oriented skills and knowledge in game jams, a systematic literature review

Abstract

Game jams, events for co-creating digital or non-digital games, are connected to learning in several ways: learning is a common motivation for participation and various learning results have been reported as their outcome. The existing literature on game jam learning consists mostly of descriptive individual case studies, with very incohesive and varied research aims, methods, and settings. Thus far, there have been no attempts to further analyze and classify the reported results of the previous studies. This article looks at existing research on game jams and learning, comparing the reported learning results to the future-oriented skills and knowledge. The data set, created utilizing the PRISMA checklist, consists of 25 original articles published between 2010 and 2022. The results show that participation in a game jam event will likely increase interdisciplinary, epistemic, and procedural knowledge. Furthermore, it can increase disciplinary knowledge depending on the theme and other framings of the event. Participation in a game jam event will likely further cognitive and metacognitive skills as well as social and emotional skills, provided the jam event is organized to create a safe and inclusive space for learning. Participation in a game jam will also likely further diverse practical and physical skills, but the adoption of these skills varies depending on individuals’ tasks inside their team. ICT-related skills are furthered in jam events concentrating on digital games and can be supported when making non-digital games. Thus, game jams offer a well-suited method for learning future-oriented skills and knowledge.