"Free Palestine," is a concise and evocative phrase we often hear. In some ways it has a clear, immediate message, but in other ways it might seem abstract, and it requires dedicated thought and work. 

Freedom is what every single Palestinian across the world needs and deserves; as for the rest of us, Nelson Mandela put it best: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” But while we might stand for a free Palestine in principle, what might it look like, and how do we make it a reality? 

As part of the ‘Towards a free Palestine’ game jam, we're asking you not just to imagine a free Palestine, but to build it. 

This jam is open to anyone, but we particularly encourage Palestinians wherever you are in the world to take part in the jam. We'd also love to see folks from and across the SWANA region take part in the jam to create something that reflects the interconnectedness of your own culture and liberation with that of Palestinians. 

As a note, members of Game Assist plan to stream the submissions to this jam on their Twitch channel after the closing date. If you are from the SWANA region and living in diaspora, especially if you’re Palestinian, you will be prioritised in the showcase, but we can’t guarantee every game will be played all the same.

Don't feel too limited by a sense of time. Your game could be set in the past, present, future, or even all three; it simply has to be forward-looking and address the theme ‘Towards a free Palestine’. 

• You could imagine what a free Palestine might look like, or think about how we move towards it. You could think about Palestinian resistance historically, or today. 
• You could create a game which ties in action and activism to engage and mobilise people now. You can tell your own story, and your family’s story, in whatever way you want. 
• You aren’t obligated to share your trauma, nor are you obligated to be teeth-rottingly positive: the theme isn’t about encouraging toxic positivity but about giving us a space to keep dreaming of and keep fighting for a free Palestine. 
• There are no restrictions of genre or aesthetics, and it can be either a video game or TTRPG, the only requirement is that it sticks to the theme. 

Think about how you're inviting the player to interact in that space. What is it you're asking them to explore? What influences are you drawing from? 

We’ve listed some resources below to learn more about Palestine to inspire your work. 

If you want to make a game about Palestinian food, maybe look at games like Venba and how it takes something like Cooking Mama and adds in Tamil cuisine and culture. Or if you choose to set your game far in the future, think about genres like Afrofuturism that imagine the African diaspora having been liberated from the effects of European colonialism. You could also look to games like Terra Nil, which uses the framing of a strategy game to help you rebuild the flora and fauna of a planet ravaged by climate disaster. If you want to prioritise story over interactive elements, think about walking simulators like Firewatch; just make sure to put some extra love into the spaces you build.

Resources

The theme of this jam is ‘Towards a free Palestine’ because we can’t conjure freedom out of thin air, we have to work together and make it a reality. We don’t just want you to make a game for this jam and end the work there: we want to inspire you to take action for Palestine, today and every day you can until Palestine is free. 

Game Assist has created a resource here to support you with mobilising and taking action:

Games for Gaza resource

We also recommend the following organisations and resources:

• Decolonize Palestine
• Makan 
• Visualizing Palestine 
• Countless Palestinian Futures 
• Al-Shabaka 
• Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question
• Further readings recommended by Game Assist

If you'd like to join the community and discuss your games or receive help, you can do so at the Gaming Academy Discord server. Please note that anyone who breaks the rules will be blocked and removed from the server with no warnings.

We, the organisers of this game jam, are not responsible for any of the submissions and do not claim any ownership of them. Those who take part in the jam are entirely responsible for their own submissions. 

With that in mind, let’s make the rules clear. 

• Absolutely zero forms of bigotry and targeted hatred towards any group, including: homophobia, transphobia, racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, misogyny, ableism.
• You are allowed to use free or paid for assets you have the rights to use, as well as any assets you have previously created before, and you can also use pre-existing code, but the overall concept should be new. If you use assets made by someone else, just make sure to credit the creators.
• There are no restrictions on which game engine you use.
• No limit or minimum on how many people can contribute towards a project.
• NSFW content is allowed, but it has to be relevant to the theme of the jam, and the context of the game that you’re making. 
• Absolutely no AI artwork or code is allowed.
• Make sure to include at least a brief description of what your game is about, requirements to run it, and controls - and please submit your game on time. 
• You’re free to do whatever you want with your game post jam - turn it into a full game, submit it to other jams, it’s up to you.