Game‐Making for Cultural Change and Empowered Youth Participation

ABSTRACT Background Game‐making has the potential to foster cultural participation and empowerment, yet its role as a form of culture‐making remains underexplored. Existing approaches to cultural engagement often overlook the creative and participatory possibilities of game‐making for addressing pressing cultural challenges and promoting youth inclusivity and empowerment in cultural heritage. This study highlights the importance of game‐making as a meaningful strategy for cultural preservation and transformation. Objectives The article investigates how game‐making, particularly through cultural game jams, can promote cultural participation, youth empowerment and support cultural innovation. Methods The study is grounded in a design‐based research methodology and examines the design, development and implementation of three cultural game jams within the EPIC‐WE project. It employs a case study approach, analysing game jam practices through the lens of cultural participation, empowerment and diversity/inclusivity, while exploring connections to youth citizens' engagement in cultural heritage. Results and Conclusions The findings show that cultural game jams can inspire and empower youth citizens to engage with cultural and societal issues through game‐making. This paper contributes to the ongoing dialogue on leveraging games and game‐making to transform culture and society by discussing the significant role of game‐making in promoting cultural awareness, value‐based imagination and youth engagement with cultural and societal issues.