August, 2024
From August 9th to 11th, the first edition of the Woman Game Jam took place in the city of Barranquilla, held in person. This event spanned the entire weekend at the Blazing Soft facilities. As official sponsors and the event’s official venue, we supported the WGJ’s goal of encouraging women and members of the LGBTQ+ community to become part of the video game and digital content development industry.
The event was organized by Tan Grande y Jugando and the Women Game Jam, who planned the most famous pajama party so that attendees could feel comfortable, both in-person and virtually.
The first day began on Friday, August 9th, at 4:00 p.m. with the arrival of the Jammers, mentors, and Kawanutriales at our location, where they could explore the areas Blazing Soft provided for resting, eating, freshening up, and, of course, developing their ideas. The organizers gave them a warm welcome, creating a space for everyone to get to know each other and connect.
In addition, they received greetings from mentors across the Americas, who shared with the Jammers the theme for this edition of the Women Game Jam: a time loop. This is when the different teams began to form
The night was productive; some groups started their game design, assigning roles and exploring possible narratives. They also received mentorship that would guide them in designing their video game over the next 48 hours.
On Saturday, August 10th, those who stayed at the venue enjoyed breakfast and recharged their energy to continue developing their video games. Meanwhile, mentorship continued, led by studios such as Blazing Soft, Psyches Media, Maleiwa Studio, and Aventuras Bonitas. They were also visited by two of the mentor “nutrias” from Bogotá, who arrived accompanied by Kawanutriales.
The emotions in the teams were running high, and they made significant progress in building their video games. Some were already creating the sound elements, while others advanced in programming. Finally, day zero arrived, Sunday, August 11th, and each participant prepared to fine-tune details, integrating art with programming, while others created their pitch, which was presented on the Twitch platform, directed by Tan Grande y Jugando.
The most remarkable aspect of this Women Game Jam was that, despite being divided into teams, everyone could count on the support of people from different teams, resolving questions and concerns that arose during the development of their projects, successfully completing their projects, and bringing together different communities around a common goal.
