Game Writing SIG Arcjam 2025: RESILIENCE
The inaugural Game Writing SIG Arcjam brought together 123 game writers and narrative designers for 72 hours of creative storytelling on the theme of RESILIENCE. Organized in partnership with Arcweave, this November 2025 event celebrated interactive narrative and built community during challenging times for the games industry.
By the Numbers
- 72 hours of jamming
- 123 submissions
- 34 games shortlisted by 10 shortlisters
- 200+ pieces of feedback from 6 judges
- 1,383 community ratings on itch.io
Judging Criteria
Instructions: Give feedback like you would to an industry peer, not to a student or hobbyist. (1 = Mediocre - 5 = Outstanding)
- Storytelling (1-5)
- Gameplay (1-5)
- Theme Interpretation (1-5)
AVE Judge rating (1-5) + Community AVE (1-5) = FINAL SCORE (2-10)
Top 10 Winners
🥇 1st Place + Community Choice: Moments Away
Score: 8.52 | By Heidi McDonald
It turns out, time flies even when you’re not having fun.
“A painfully raw and real presentation of grief and the resilience required to wade through it. Beautifully written and expertly crafted.”
Prizes: 2x IGDA Memberships, Arcweave License
🥈 2nd Place + Excellence in Writing: Launch Day
Score: 8.41 | By Tim Scheiman, Felipe Godoy, Alex Jennings, Kaosisochi Unini, Luciano Comassetto, Jackson Smith
700 years and no hope of rescue…
“An incredibly polished experience where the world, characters, and your “unwanted task” goal are fully realized. The predicament becomes a metaphor for our times.”
Prizes: 2x Game Narrative Toolbox, The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You (signed)
🥉 3rd Place + Judges’ Choice: Piranha Pit
Score: 8.20 | By Beckett Van Stralen, Ada Leong, Elio Wiesse, and João Paulo Fadil
“I loved the intricacies of the storytelling used, the sound, voice acting, sound effects, images, and overall vibe. It was a fun experience and it felt like my choices truly mattered.”
Prizes: 2x IGDA Memberships, Book: Branching Story, Unlocked Dialogue: Designing and Writing Visual Novels
4th Place: Hold On, Valor
Score: 8.08 | By Jasmine Odenat
“A charming game with a fun, well-defined objective for our good doggo protagonist. The “urgency” of Valor needing to go spend a penny kept the pace engaging.”
Prize: Resume and LinkedIn Brush-Up Sessions from Reign Recruiting
5th Place: I AM AN OFFICE PLANT & I PUSH BUTTONS
Score: 8.06 | By Laurence Brook & Fitriani Revanda
“If Severance, Unpacking, and Stardew Valley all made a game together, this is what it would look like. Voice acting brought these inanimate and bizarre characters to life.”
Prize: Course: Designing Educational TTRPGs for Children from D6 Learning
6th Place: Amber Sky
Score: 7.96 | By Natta-Lie
“Hugely effective in conveying atmosphere—this game constantly had judges thinking what they’d do in such a situation. An excellent portfolio piece with wonderfully balanced narrative.”
7th Place & Perfect Score Recognition: Tomorrow is a Place (and maybe that place is the DMV)
Score: 7.71 | By Hope Yoon and Cuauh “OddGoo” Moreno
A former dancer’s trippy trip to the DMV.
“There’s a such a strong voice and perspective here. There’s a child-of-immigrants view that I can empathize with but not share but an even deeper “humans in the cosmos” vibe that I believe resonates with all of us.”
Received a perfect score from Judge CJ Kershner.
Prize: Book: Freelance Video Game Writing: The Life and Business of the Digital Mercenary for Hire
8th Place: ECHOES IN THE VOID
Score: 7.60 | By EvPacho
“I really enjoyed my time with this game and I think it’s a fantastic portfolio piece in showcasing narrative design”
9th Place: Call Your Mom
Score: 7.41 | By Jo Kurcharska, Aszka Plazweska, and Magdalena Cielecka
“Not gonna lie: this one hit home hard. Having been my mom’s caregiver, including periods of delirium (if not dementia), this is very relatable.”
10th Place: Persistence of Pain
Score: 7.30 | By Christos Davillas & Massimo Gandola
“A haunting, bizarre, and thrilling experience […] like your worst childhood nightmare being read back to you through exquisitely poetic prose. […] I was sickeningly curious enough to return to each room just to see what new horror it would serve me”
Special Recognition Awards
🏆 Excellence in Narrative Design: Chasing Ghosts
By incobalt (Michael Thomét)
A queer horror-adjacent interactive fiction about you and your ghost hunting friend.
Prize: Game Writing Bootcamp from Game Design Skills
🔧 Innovative Use of Technology: Trench Pigs
By Raimond Tunnel and Andreas Roosild
An adventure-puzzle game about mental resilience in war.
Prize: Arcweave License
⭐ Perfect Score Recognition (Natasha Skult): Dream Bound
By Leopold Chen, Cole Barrios, and Matt Barrios
A text-based surreal horror game following a young adult’s nightmare-plagued journey to the Arctic.
Prize: MiTale Bundle (Willow Guard Steam code + Indie Gamedev Tips Ebook)
Remaining Results
11th–20th Place
| Rank | Game | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 11th | Ashes Shadow | 7.29 |
| 12th | STIGMATA | 7.27 |
| 13th | Trench Pigs | 7.12 |
| 14th | Dream Bound | 7.06 |
| 15th | THE PIT | 7.00 |
| 15th | Chasing Ghosts | 7.00 |
| 17th | BB’s Last Gambit | 6.89 |
| 18th | Speak No Evil | 6.85 |
| 19th | Sweet Sixhunting | 6.76 |
| 20th | Heaven Isn’t Hiring | 6.72 |
The Full Shortlist (34 Games)
Admit One • Amber Sky • Astragali • BB’s Last Gambit • Call Your Mom • Chasing Ghosts • Death and Paw-perty Taxes • Deathsong of a Monster Hunter • Dream Bound • ECHOES IN THE VOID • Echoes • For Infernal Use Only • Gem Hunters • Hold On, Valor! • I AM AN OFFICE PLANT & I PUSH BUTTONS • I’m Still Here • Launch Day • Limit Break • Moments Away • Onboarding • Persistence of Pain • Piranha Pit • Red Noir • Solar Powered • Speak No Evil • Teeth & Tongue • THE PIT • The Coffee Is Listening • The House of Grief • The Trial • The Voice Behind the Veil • Tomorrow is a Place (and maybe that place is the DMV) • Trench Pigs • What Lurks in Dark Corners • Who Dreams for Us? Episode 1
Judges
Our expert panel brought decades of combined experience in game writing and narrative design:
- C.J. Kershner – WGA and BAFTA-nominated writer, Polyhedron Productions
- Chride Lassheikki – Senior Narrative Designer, Nitro Games
- Frances (Frankie) Wakefield-Harrey – Lead Narrative Designer, Trailmix Games
- Jarory de Jesus – Narrative Designer, Coquito Games
- Jon Myers - CEO, Earplay
- Kelly Bender – Narrative Designer, Game Design Skills instructor
- Konstantinos Dimopoulos – Game Designer and author of Virtual Cities
- Natasha Skult – CEO & Creative Director, MiTale
Jam Credits
Organizers: Chride Lassheikki & Jon Myers (Game Writing SIG), Giannis, Manos, Georgia and Leonardo (Arcweave)
Shortlisters: Shan, Julia, Rizu, Inari, Amity, Manos, Giannis, Miranda, Tobias, Chride
Discord Moderation & Graphics: Sam Webb
Additional Graphics: Xan Farley
PR, Social Media & Blog: Hailey, Jackson
Prize Donors
Thank you to all our generous sponsors:
- Arcweave
- IGDA
- Game Design Skills
- D6 Learning
- CRC Press (Routledge)
- MiTale
- Reign Recruiting
- Richard Dansky
Play All 123 Submissions
Browse all jam entries on itch.io →
Join the Next Jam
Want to help organize, judge, or donate prizes for our next game jam? Get in touch with us on Discord, or email info@game-writing.com.