Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley & Symoné – The Rules of Watching: Game Jam
- Year
2026
- Partner
- Deadline to sign up
Monday 23 March 2026, 5pm
- Sign up
The Rules of Watching: Game Jam is a two day game jam responding to the central theme of spectatorship and agency in collaboration with London Games Festival 2026.
Co-hosted by artists Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley & Symoné, this collaborative game jam will explore experimental approaches to gaming/playable art, live art, and immersive digital practice. Making may involve any combination of digital tools or non-digital tools, embodied interaction, craft materials, drawing from folk games, performance, party games, video games, table top and card games, depending on the needs of each idea.
Game jammers will collaborate in groups and have the option to experiment with both physical objects, bodies and digital tech, using open source software of their choosing such as; Godot, Twine, Bitsy or Ren’py, as well as other experimental or unconventional digital formats. We will celebrate DIY making and prototypes rather than slick finished projects. The emphasis is on experimentation, collective problem solving and peer exchange, with space to test and reflect on how different modes of play shape relationships between subject, player and viewer.
What is a game jam?
A game jam is a game development co-working space. They can help make new connections, gain experience, test your development skills and try out ideas. Participants will make games from scratch in line with the theme of the jam and within a specified time frame. Game jams can last for as little as 12 hours, or as long as two or more weeks. Ours will last 2 days (12 hours) and be focused on the theme of spectatorship and agency.
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley & Symoné will co-host the jam, but this is not a workshop or teaching space. The days will be a co-led process in which all participants contribute tools, knowledge and approaches, learning through shared experimentation and play. The group will be made up of practitioners from a variety of disciplines to share methodologies and collaborate across art forms.
What does The Rules of Watching theme mean?
Participants will create games about the idea of watching. This can be interpreted in any way and is just a foundation to get you thinking creatively. You are welcome to interpret the theme in any way you like.
Where
Activities will take place in person at Live Art Development Agency, London.
If joining in person is a barrier to you, please email [email protected].
When
Friday 10 April – Saturday 11 April 2026, 12am – 6pm both days.
Who
This game jam is open to 15 interdisciplinary game makers and creatives interested in expanding their game development and collaboration skills through play and critical exchange, in a low stakes environment.
Participants should have a range of experience or interest in
- making games (digital and/or non-digital)
- making live, interactive or immersive art
- participating in game jams either for fun or professionally
- testing and expanding methods of collaboration and group work
For this game jam, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley & Symoné are prioritising places for the QTIPOC (Queer, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour) community, a community they are part of and create alongside.
Practitioners who do not identify as QTIPOC are absolutely still welcome to apply and will be offered places once all eligible QTIPOC applicants have been offered places.
General Information
- Lunch, snacks, hot and cold drinks will be provided throughout the two days. LADA also has a small kitchen space with a microwave, fridge and hob participants are welcome to use if you prefer not to share food.
- Participants must bring their own technology/computer. If this is a barrier to participation please email [email protected] and we can explore options.
- The days will use a co-led process in which all participants contribute tools, knowledge and approaches, learning through shared experimentation and play.
- Making may involve any combination of digital tools or non-digital tools, depending on the needs of each idea.
- It is encouraged for game jammers to experiment with both physical objects, your body, and digital tech – celebrating DIY making and prototypes rather than slick finished projects.
Access
Event information:
This is a relaxed event. Various seating options will be available including fold out chairs, office chairs, a sofa and a bench. All are welcome to join in a relaxed space and are free to come and go as they please. The lighting will be fixed with no sudden changes. There are disposable masks and hand sanitiser available.
LADA space:
The building is wheelchair accessible by lift and provides a wheelchair accessible ground-floor bathroom. All bathrooms are gender inclusive. There is no isolated quiet space inside, but there is a small quiet outdoor area. Some of the art on display in the space includes naked bodies. You can find more information and see photos of the space here. Should you have any particular access requirements, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to offer further support.
Content notes:
Please email [email protected] if you would like more information on what to expect.
How to sign up
So that we can ensure the group meets the appropriate skill set and background, we ask everyone to sign up via a short questionnaire. The group will then be selected by Symoné and Danielle. We will prioritise a diverse mix of complementary skills to support collaboration and exchange across disciplines. Queer, trans, and/or intersex people of colour will be prioritised.
We accept written, video, and audio applications. For video or audio applications, please answer the questions listed in the questionnaire within a recording of 5 minutes. Send the file to [email protected]. Should you need support accessing or submitting the application, please call us on 020 8985 2124.
We will confirm the group no later than Wednesday 25 March 2026.
Travel & Accommodation
Practitioners based outside of London are welcome to apply, but they are responsible for their own travel and accommodation.
About the Artists
Symoné is a Guinness World Record-holding queer interdisciplinary performer, director, and alternative game designer working across circus, cabaret, live art, and game technologies. Blending pole, rollerskating, hula hoop, and immersive design, her work explores power, agency, spectatorship, and the unconscious through form-driven performance. She has performed internationally, including with Nile Rodgers and Peaches, and created various personal productions; A Place Between Mass & Echoes, Nulllspace Motel, UTOPIAN (t&cs apply) and Euphorica. Symoné holds a BA in Anthropology from SOAS and studied game development with Code Coven. Her work has been commissioned by leading UK institutions and is a previous artist-in-residence at Live Art Development Agency (2025), where she also founded the Live Art and Gaming Network.
Symoné. Image Courtesy of the Artist
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley (b. 1995, London) lives and works between Berlin and London. Working predominantly in animation, sound, performance and video game development, and with a background in DIY print media and activism, the artist’s practice focuses on intertwining lived experience with fiction to imaginatively retell stories of people they seek to archive. Danielle utilizes interactive technologies to create participatory spaces that challenge traditional narratives and encourage active engagement. Their projects often take the form of immersive video games, where players navigate choices that confront their assumptions and biases, fostering deeper conversations about identity, privilege, and systemic oppression. Through their innovative use of digital media, Danielle not only preserves histories but also envisions inclusive futures where the voices of those that are ignored or erased are central. Their work is both ‘archive and insurgency’, a catalyst for dialogue, inviting audiences to reflect on their roles within broader societal structures.
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. Image courtesy of the artist
Banner image credit:
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
Supported by London Games Festival
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