Join this open, remote game hackathon to help spread soil awareness and literacy in a creative way in France and across the world. Over a short period, you are invited to create and submit a digital game based on our theme of Soils. The winning team will be invited to showcase their game in SOILSCAPE events across Europe.
Date & Time: March 27, 19:00 to March 29, 19:00 (CET), 2026 (remote/online)
Eligibility: Resident of Europe, 18 and up
Contact: cc@colognegamelab.de
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And follow the hackathon on itch.io here.
Soil in Games
The theme can be integrated into your project in any way you see fit. Soil has been a major part of digital games for a long time. For a quick overview and inspiration, read this article.
Who is this for?
Participants of all game development skill and soil knowledge levels are encouraged to take part. We can assist in finding suitable teammates during the event kick-off.
Participants will be invited to consent to the promotion and dissemination of their game by the organizers and SOILSCAPE project partners (e.g. on websites, social media, and project communications).
Rules
– Duration: The hackathon will take place from March 27 to 29 for a duration of 48 hours.
– We value participant wellbeing. The organizers do not encourage working overnight or overtime. Jam comfortably.
– Originality: Games must be built with mostly new, original material and code created or assembled during the scope of the hackathon.
– Publicly available audiovisual resources and limited AI assets (e.g. for ideation, reference, or minor content generation) may be used if proper acknowledgement and disclosure is provided.
– Participants remain responsible for ensuring that all assets used comply with applicable copyright and licensing requirements.
– Contest: One project will be selected as a winner. This game will be showcased at Soil Festivals across Europe with the team’s participation. Mentorship and support will be offered for development and publishing.
– Platforms: The game should be playable on either Windows, Android, or web. Any game engine and development tools may be used.
– Language: The game should be in Portuguese or English.
– Content and language should be appropriate for all ages. Projects that do not comply will be disqualified at the discretion of the organizers.
– We do not tolerate harassment, discrimination or intimidation of any kind during the hackathon or as part of submitted work. Participants violating this or any rule may be subject to disqualification at the discretion of the organizers
Winners
One project will be selected as a winner. The team will receive development and publishing support from the Cologne Game Lab and showcasing opportunities at upcoming SOILSCAPE Soil Festivals and on the project’s website and social media channels. We will inform the winning team of the selection within two weeks of the end of the hackathon.
At least one winning team member will have the chance to have their travel and accommodation paid to visit the Soil Festival in Angers, France, on May 22nd to 23rd to showcase their game in person. Any public showcasing or communication involving the winning game will take place in accordance with participants’ stated preferences.
Evaluation criteria are:
– Game design, mechanics, user experience (40%)
– Soil literacy, thematic integration (40%)
– Artistic merit, innovation, overall impression (20%)
We look forward to your creations!
Don’t forget to SIGN UP HERE!