The jam is officially over! Please check out the submissions page to play.  If you are interested in more games made by developers of Asian descent, we've listed them at the bottom of the page. Thank you for joining our very first #stopasianhatejam and we hope to do it again in the future! ❤️

In celebration of AAPI Month (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage) in May, we’re inviting developers of Asian descent to submit a game that highlights their marginalized experiences.

The violent attacks of this year against those in Asian communities around the world, hark back to a longer systemic issue of real representation for Asian diasporas in popular western media. As game developers, it can sometimes be difficult to see our experiences accurately portrayed, especially working in the video game industry. 

Cover Image and banner art by Kuan Tong - Designook.club

🕹THE CHALLENGE

Throughout the month of May, we are open for submissions from those who are currently feeling the need to speak up or express themselves in light of current events.

The challenge is to create games that highlight our own identities and our lived experiences in a way that goes against racist/sexist/and hateful tropes commonly perpetuated in media. We are challenging the hate by reclaiming our narratives.

 TROPES TO TACKLE:

• Submissive wife or Dragon lady trope. (How exotic!)
• Model Minority (You must be a straight A student AND great at math!)
•  Perpetual foreigner (Where are you from?)
•  Dehumanization through "the other" (Japanese Internment camps, Vietnam war)
• #chinavirus (Every Asian is the same)
•  Yellow face (Emma Stone is Hawaiian?)
• Micro-agression (Your English is very good!)
• And so so so much more…

👩🏻‍💻JAM OVERVIEW

SCHEDULE

• May 1st - JAM STARTS! (West Coast Time Zone GMT-7) 
• May 31st - JAM ENDS - 11:59 PM (West Coast Time Zone GMT-7) 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

• Join the jam here with your itch.io account.  It's free to make one!
• You have the full month of May to design, create, and submit an original game.
• Submission due by MAY 31st at midnight! 

RULES

• Teams are welcome to include people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, however, the game concept should be led by a someone of Asian descent.
• All types of games are allowed! 
  • Board games, card games, tabletop experiences, and physical games are all welcome! Try and send a video of the game so we know how to play.
• There is no limit on how short or complex your game should be. Experimentation is encouraged!
  •  It could be a simple poem made in Twine or a full 3D experience made in Unreal!
• You are allowed to include personal experiences of racism, hate speech, and sexism, but please don’t perpetuate these toxic ideas. 
  • It’s important to reflect on them, however don’t condone, defend, or encourage them. (we will remove you if you actively condone violence or hurtful racism against others)

FAQ

• Is there a theme?
  • There is no set theme for this game jam, however, it’s encouraged that you create something highlighting the minority experience. One place to start is to tackle common stereotypical tropes depicted in media. 
• Do I have to be American to submit?
  • Nope! This jam is open to any developer of asian descent who have experienced being stereotyped, misrepresented, or targeted for their ethnic background. We would love to have many diverse voices within our community to deconstruct the stereotypical representations common portrayed in media. 
• I've never made a game before, how do I start? 
  • There are excellent tools to tell your own story and the jam is designed for you to experiment! Outside of game engines like Unity or Unreal, try your hand at writing an interactive story or create a card game, board game, or physical game! 
    • Twine for interactive fiction: https://twinery.org/ (getting started guide - http://www.adamhammond.com/twineguide/)
    • Bitsy for pixel art stories: https://ledoux.itch.io/bitsy (Tutorial - https://bitsy.fandom.com/wiki/Tutorials)
    • Pico-8 for making really small (but powerful) games! (requires some programming) https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
• How do I submit?
  • Please submit directly to this jam page BEFORE midnight May 31st. Here's how!

Games by Developers of Asian Descent

• All our Asias by Melos Han-Tani - https://han-tani.itch.io/aoa
• Missed Messages by Angela He - https://zephyo.itch.io/missed-message
• Out for Delivery by Yuxin Gao - https://ghaoyuxin.itch.io/out-for-delivery
• Yellow Face by Mike Ren - https://mikeyren.itch.io/yellowface
• Asian Acceptance by Pamela Punzalan - https://thedovetailor.itch.io/asian-acceptance
• Lionkiller by Sisi Jiang - https://six6jiang.itch.io/lionkiller
• What Comes After by fahmitsu x Rolling Glory Jam https://rollinggloryjam.itch.io/what-comes-after
• Butterfly Soup by Brianna Lei https://brianna-lei.itch.io/butterfly-soup

Interviews

• Matt T.K Kim "Asian American Game Developers Are Dreaming of Their Own Minari Moment
  •  https://www.ign.com/articles/asian-american-game-developers-experience-minari
• Chanhee-choi Interview: "An Artist Was Targeted in a Hate Crime. So She Designed a Video Game"
  • https://www.wired.com/story/chanhee-choi-video-game-pandemic-hate-crime/
• Melos Han-Tani Interview by Christopher B. Patterson
  • http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/interview-melos-han-tani/
•  "Race, Terror and Counter-Strike: Interview with Minh Le (Gooseman), Co-Creator of Counter-Strike"
  • https://medium.com/anomalyblog/race-terror-and-counter-strike-interview-with-min...
• Interview with Robert Yang: “The car in Stick Shift is gay, by the way”
  • https://medium.com/anomalyblog/robert-yang-the-car-in-stick-shift-is-gay-by-the-...

Academic Research

•  "Asian Americans and Digital Games" by  Christopher B. Patterson 
  • https://www.academia.edu/37169624/Asian_Americans_and_Digital_Games

❤️Let’s #StopAsianHate by making real experiences a part of the narrative.

This jam is volunteer organized! if you’d like to contribute to the jam organizers team please reach out via the forums. We are currently looking for streamers who would like to do Let's Plays of the games and any industry game developers who are interested in mentoring or sharing their experiences! Thank you!