Paper accepted @ International Conference on Game Jams, Hackathons and Game Creation Events 2026

Title: Who Gets to Make Games? Rethinking Tools for Community-Based Game Jams

Conference: International Conference on Game Jams, Hackathons and Game Creation Events 2026

Author: Kseniia Harshina

Abstract: Game accessibility is often discussed in relation to players, but access to game-making is also unevenly distributed. This short paper examines how authoring tools shape participation in community-based game jams. Drawing on a one-day storytelling game jam with adults with migration and/or displacement experience, the paper shows how Twine enabled participants to create short playable prototypes within a supported workshop setting, while also revealing limits around templates, visual storytelling, and continued access after the jam. The case highlights a key distinction: low-barrier authoring is not the same as mobile-first authoring. The paper contributes a case-based argument for understanding game-making tools as part of what makes participation possible, and for treating mobile-first authoring as an important direction for community-based game jams.