Persbericht
The European Space Agency brings together technology and creativity in a game development event across eight Finnish cities
As humanity prepares for the opportunities of the new space exploration era, Finland is opening an opportunity to partake in it - in a creative and playful way. Spaceship Game Jam aims to merge Finnish game development expertise with the exploration science research of the European Space Agency. The joint effort seeks to unite creativity, innovation, and technology to serve as an intriguing springboard for new ideas. The collaboration brings gamified thinking into the world of cutting-edge space technology. The core idea of the event is ESA's goal to approach space technology development from fresh perspectives and share knowledge on the on-going exploration missions.
The multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of a game jam event offers a unique environment where engineers, designers, and creative professionals can iterate, test and visualize different ideas together. Examples of the game outcomes could be a new way to structure spacecraft user interfaces, playing through experiential aspects of crewed flight, or exposing challenges in communication between Earth and Mars through a game narrative.
“Preparing for space exploration isn’t just about engineering,” says Noora Archer, who works at ESA as a virtual reality developer for Human and Robotic Exploration. “It’s also very much about understanding the interactions between humans, technology, and space as a challenging environment. To tackle these systemic challenges, we want to encourage more people to get curious and participate in low-threshold innovation that can bring new talent and perspectives to the growing space industry.”
The Spaceship Game Jam serves as a new kind of platform for citizen science and experimental research, highlighting ESA’s openness to new forms of collaboration between individuals, creative industries, and technological research. Through rapid prototyping and iteration, it enables the development of concepts and ideas that can later be expanded in technical and scientific development. During the event ESA’s technical experts will also be present and prepared to provide participants with information about European exploration research topics.
The Spaceship Game Jam will take place simultaneously in eight cities across Finland and online on August 29–31. The cities are Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kauhajoki, Kuopio, Outokumpu, Pori and Turku. The event is organized in a hackathon-style format. It is open to all, with no prior experience in game jams or hackathons required. Curiosity and readiness to explore and learn game design are enough. Participation is free of charge.
The event’s main sponsors are Rakettitiede, EIT Culture & Creativity and Metropolia.
What is a Game Jam?
A game jam is a creative event where participants come together to design and build games from scratch, usually within a short, intense time frame (a weekend in our case). The games are typically small in scope and developed by individuals or small teams. While some game jams are structured as competitions, Spaceship Game Jam is not about winning, it’s about exploration, collaboration, and creativity.
More info
https://spaceshipgamejam.org/
Spaceship Game Jam (photos)
https://discord.gg/s7bqzAEPYZ (digital press room)
Finnish Game Jam / Vesa Raudasoja / vesa@finnishgamejam.com
ESA / Noora Archer / noora.archer@esa.int
European Space Agency (ESA)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization, the only fully international Space Agency by definition, dedicated to space exploration and research. Founded in 1975 the year 2025 marks its 50th Anniversary. With 22 member states, its mission is to coordinate especially Europe’s space activities, including satellite launches, scientific missions, earth observation, and human space exploration. Headquartered in Paris and with research activities around many European countries, ESA develops cutting-edge technologies and has led major achievements such as the Rosetta comet mission, the Mars Express orbiter, and the Ariane rocket program. ESA plays a key role in advancing global space science and supporting sustainable development on Earth. More info: https://www.esa.int
Spaceship EAC, ECSAT and FR
Spaceship Game Jam is named after its direct connection point and operational touchpoint at ESA: the Spaceships. Across Europe, ESA and CNES are fostering next-generation innovation through three collaborative initiatives called Spaceships: Spaceship EAC in Germany, Spaceship ECSAT in the UK, and Spaceship FR in France are hubs that bring together students, researchers, and industry to explore the technologies that will enable sustainable human and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. From virtual reality astronaut training and autonomous robotics to resource utilization and habitat design, each team tackles the complex challenges of living and working in space. Together, these teams are shaping the future of space exploration, driven by collaboration, creativity, and a shared vision for humanity beyond Earth.
Finnish Game Jam (FGJ)
Finnish Game Jam ry (FGJ) is a non-profit organisation that has been organising and facilitating game jams in Finland for more than a decade. The association hosts game jams monthly - for various audiences and of various scale, with their own forces, or with different collaborators. These events gather thousands of jammers every year constantly bringing new jams to the scene and enriching the Finnish gamedev community. FGJ mission is to challenge the status quo, embrace innovation, and create meaningful, lasting impact through their diverse events. Driven by a vision to inspire change and push boundaries, Finnish Game Jam delivers game jamming events that truly make a difference. More info: https://www.finnishgamejam.com