A Taxonomy of Participants' Difficulties in Game Jams: A Qualitative Analysis of Experiences CSCW003

Game jams are time-bounded collaborative events that range from one to few days, bringing together teams to create game prototypes. Previous research has emphasized the positive aspects of these events. Fewer studies focused on their limitations, usually focusing on a small number of participants in specific contexts, which provides a limited view of the negative experiences faced by event participants. To address this gap, we qualitatively analyzed 866 open-ended responses about the difficulties faced by the same group of participants in two subsequent game jams. We report a taxonomy with 42 difficulties structured in five categories: Social Dynamics, Project Management, Personal, Event Format, and Technical and Infrastructural. We then discuss how to use this taxonomy in different scenarios, and how the difficulties are intertwined with participants emotional experiences and may even influence whether they decide to return to these events.