Maps – whether depicting fictional worlds or representing real-world places – are a persistent element in digital games. The National Archives of Finland together with researchers from the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies organized a game jam event to explore how authentic historical maps can be used in game development.

In game jams, the participants are given limitations, usually at least a theme, for creating a game in a certain timeframe. In Cartographia Game Jam, 30 participants had 48 hours – a weekend – to create games somehow inspired by the historical map collections in the National Archives of Finland. The participants were given a curated collection of digitized maps to use. Additionally, an expert from the National Archives was present to give contextual information and help participants find more maps as needed.

Historical maps have potential to be used in multiple ways in games – as designs for game levels or game worlds, as inspiration for visual style, or as actual game art assets. Historical maps can be integrated into games as objects that the player-character interacts with, or they can be an inspiration for game mechanics. In all these potential uses for maps, the historical knowledge contained in them is more or less transformed. But what is transferred from maps to games, what is reshaped and what is left behind? This is the question that motivated game studies researchers to arrange this kind of event.

Game jams cannot be approached as representations of professional game development in a condensed form. However, a game jam offers an opportunity to explore what can be done with historical maps and discover approaches to maps not imagined previously. CoE researchers wanted to understand what drives the transformations of historical knowledge from maps to games, whether it is technological limitations, conventions of game design, gameplay dynamics and playability, a need for narrative coherence, or simply limited time and skills. A multi-method study including ethnographic field work during the game jam, analysis of the resulting games, as well as interviews will be used in the research.

The Cartographia Game Jam was held at the historic site of the National Archives of Finland in Helsinki in March 2025. For participants, the location itself could be a motivator for participation. The venue was highlighted in the event advertisement, specifically mentioning the possibility of staying overnight at the archives. In comparison to museums, which have regular exhibitions aimed at general audiences, the visitors to archives are usually there for a professional purpose or a serious hobby, such as researching their family histories. Some game jam participants might have never visited the archive without the event. Furthermore, participants gained access to areas that most members of the public never get to see, creating a unique experience. Therefore, for the National Archives, the event created a form of community engagement.

Arranging a game jam in a historically significant location has its own challenges, as there are often invaluable objects and materials which need to be protected. Balancing this with arranging an audience event can demand some specific arrangements in terms of preservation of cultural heritage. Especially an overnight weekend event can demand additional resources. Therefore, the benefits of such an event should be clear to the cultural heritage organization as well.

For the National Archives, gaining knowledge of a potentially new or unknown use was one of the main motivators for hosting a game jam. All the different uses of cultural heritage are not always known to those guarding that heritage. Understanding how collections can be used as a source for creative digital content creation is valuable in itself. A game jam can also offer existing stakeholders or customers a new form of engaging with the cultural heritage organization. An event which combines cultural heritage with the field of digital games can also function as part of rebranding: connecting the organizational brand to a modern technological field of game development.

Left image: The old cellar space served as a sleeping area during the game jam. Image: The National Archives of Finland. Right image: Cartographia Game Jam opening event in the old reading room at the National Archives of Finland. Image: Minna Kantonen.

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