The Knowledge Network offers various ways to update the tools for life and work. On Friday 18th September and Saturday 19th September, there will be an opportunity for people to learn and work with the following people to develop outdoor games, board games, computer games and/or something completely new.
Our Innovation, University and Lifelong Learning departments open their doors and windows here for people to develop and enhance their skills and abilities, drawing on the methods of innovation and creative thinking, technology, and the facilities of the FabLab, in collaboration with the University of Iceland, Game Makers Iceland and STEM Iceland.
Up the glacier and into an ice cave – in virtual reality!
Ásta Olga Magnúsdóttir will be with us at the Game Jam. She is a project manager at the Science and Innovation Division of the University of Iceland, but has also worn various other hats, including in the world of gaming and exhibition curation.
Ásta has been involved in the creation of digital games and interactive experiences since the turn of the millennium. She worked for many years at Gagarín, where she was involved in creating some of the country's most impressive interactive exhibitions, including Lava Centre, Eldheimar and Orka til framtíðar.
The latest adventure is a virtual reality glacier experience, created with the start-up Into the Blue, and Ásta is going to bring it to the Playdate!
There, participants can put on VR goggles, hop on a glacier and into an ice cave, without leaving Hraðið.
Can a run become a game – and the town a stage?
The author Egill Bjarnason will give a short talk at the Playdjammin' about how he has combined storytelling, movement and the local environment.
Egill has, among other things, offered a run around Húsavík with a historical twist, where the route itself becomes part of the narrative and participants experience the town in a new way.
How can we use the stories, places and unique features of our local area as material for play? And how can we breathe new life into familiar places with more play?
Perhaps the game is hiding all around us.
Mentor of the Leikjadjamms: Steingerður Lóa Gunnarsdóttir
We are incredibly happy to get a real big shot in game design up to Húsavík!
Steingerður Lóa will be a mentor at the Game Jam and will be with us all weekend. She will share her experience, help participants develop their ideas, and support the teams in taking their games from a initial concept to a finished product.
Steingerður Lóa is a freelance game designer and a part-time lecturer at the University of Reykjavík and the Iceland Academy of the Arts. She has been involved in the design and publication of numerous board games and computer board games, and possesses extensive knowledge and experience in the field of game design and game studies.
For several years, she has been organising gaming tournaments, game jams, seminars and teaching, and has been active in the Icelandic independent games scene, including within Game Makers Iceland. She also teaches on a new degree programme in digital art, INDA, which is run by the University of Reykjavík and the Iceland Academy of the Arts.
It will be invaluable for the participants to have Steingerði Lóu with them throughout the entire creative process!
Pre-game at Myrkur Games
Halldór Snær Kristjánsson, Managing Director, Artistic Director and co-founder of Myrkur Games, will be giving a talk at the Game Jam, giving participants an insight into the world of professional game development.
Halldór has many years of experience in game development and leads the operations of Myrkur Games. He is also the chairman of the Icelandic Game Developers Association (IGI) and has been actively involved in building the Icelandic games industry and connecting it with the international community.
Here, participants are inspired by someone with an insider's knowledge of the games industry, before they sit down, let their imaginations run wild, and start to create. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear from one of the key figures in the Icelandic games industry, gain insight into how games are created, and gather inspiration before the ideation process begins.
From idea to reality
Stefán Pétur, a product designer and innovation manager at Hraðinn, will be giving a short talk at the Game Jam about the journey from a first idea to a fully-fledged game.
He tells of a board game he designed with Sól Hrafnsdóttir, inspired by Norse mythology, and gives participants an insight into how an idea develops, takes shape, and becomes something that others can experience and play.
Where does the inspiration come from and what does it take to turn it into a real game?
Could an underwater greenhouse become a reality?
Gyde Rudolph will be giving a short talk at the Game Jam, where she will talk about the Blue Gardens of Húsavík and invite participants to look at the project through the eyes of a game designer.
How could games be used to convey the idea, tackle real-world challenges or find new solutions? Could the sea, the community and the future of Húsavík become the subject of a board game, computer game, outdoor game or some other kind of gaming experience?
A real-world project from the local area will serve as a catalyst for creative thinking and problem-solving.
Participants can come with an idea from the get-go or get one on the spot, arrive on their own or meet people and form a team at the event.
Registration and further information: https://hradid.is/leikjadjamm/