Developers of any age will be challenged to create video games inspired by Romanian mythology

Mythology and gaming will intersect at the Tales of Us Game Jam, an event that will bring together game developers who want to make their mark by creating an original title. The Game Jam will take place from September 30 to October 2nd at CINETic and is organized by Tales of Us and RGDA (Romanian Game Developers Association). The event aims to showcase the local culture and talent of young Romanian developers internationally.

The Game Jam is open to all Romanian programmers, artists and designers that are 18 years and above. Every developer is welcome to the game jam, the ones with little experience to experienced devs interested in a fun and interesting twist to their game dev job.  To participate in the event, they can register on the RGDA website.

The event will be hybrid, with up to 30 slots available on site attending at CINETic and unlimited spots for those who choose to participate online. The deadline for applications is September 21 2022.

‘’We are thrilled that Tales Of Us chose Romania as one of their locations to source stories and folktales. We at RGDA see a lot of potential in mixing Romanian mythology with great game design and we organize this game jam in the hope that it will be part of a larger discussion around how our folklore and folktales can be great inspiration to create original IP games in our country that can become successful all over the world’,’ says Andreea Medvedovici Per, Executive Director of RGDA.

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“My knowledge of Romania and its culture used to extend no further than misplaced stereotypes of homes hung with garlic, and cheesy tales about vampires. Today, our work with Tales of Us allows us to support and explore storytelling that develops away from those poorly told narratives and one-sided stories. We’re already amazed by the diversity of the Romanian stories and myths we’ve been uncovering and cannot wait to see what these will turn into during a Game Jam”, says Eva Vonk, producer and creative director at Tales of Us.

On September 30, the event will be opened by some of the most knowledgeable and passionate Romanian storytellers who will introduce the game jam participants to the world of legends, archaic Romanian myths from several emblematic areas of Romania: the Danube, Transylvania, Maramureș and many others. Through 7 authentic stories, the mentors will tell young people about the nature of the characters, the symbolism of the stories, the cultural heritage and other interesting things that developers can use in the development of their games. For example, characters such as the Wandering Prince, Ileana Cosânzeana or Prince Charming, or fabulous creatures such as the dragon, the banshee, the undead or the witch could be the main actors in the games created by the participants.

Participants will have 46 hours to develop a Video game, from September 30 at 17.00 to October 2nd, 16:00. The games showcase, evaluation and the awards will follow in the same evening.

Following the game jam, 3 games will be chosen to continue in a prototyping phase, and at the end of the process, one game will receive funding to be produced and be part of World of Us, the platform developed by Tales of Us.

World of Us is an upcoming mythological digital platform where children travel, create and learn about the world around them through play. World of Us is a bridge for ancestral knowledge to reach a global audience, starting with stories from regions in Congo, Brazil and Romania. World of Us is produced by Tales of Us.

In addition, the top 3 ranked games will be awarded a total of €3000, as follows: First place -1700 Euro, second place – 800 Euro, third place – 500 Euro.

More details about the game jam can be found here.