Behind the Screens: An Exploratory Study on Gamer Types and Identities in Game Jams

Game jams are events where development teams collaborate to create games in days or weeks, sharing common themes and limitations. However, it is unclear how participants in game jams fit into the larger gaming culture regarding their motivations and identities as gamers. Our paper surveys two game jam populations to determine their player motivation profiles using the Hexad-12 questionnaire, roles in the development teams at a game jam, their correspondence to the gamer and LGBTQ+ identity, and their play-time per week. The results show that the population in our samples does not differ significantly from the one reported in the original Hexad study. We found correlations between the Hexad player types and the development roles at a game jam. People interested in Game/Level Design and people reporting having fun as a reason for attending the game jam were more likely to be Achiever types, people interested in Art were more likely, while those interested in Programming were less likely to be Disruptor types, and the more participants identified as a gamer, the more likely they were Player types, and/or preferred the Game/Level Design role. Furthermore, we found that both samples identified to some extent with the term gamer. Additionally, the more participants leaned towards identifying as a gamer, the more likely they were Players and/or preferred the Game/Level Design hat.