Highlights of the article published on news website liberal.gr
Video games are increasingly becoming powerful tools for learning, collaboration, and social innovation, extending far beyond their traditional role as entertainment products. Across Europe, they are being used to develop skills, foster entrepreneurship, and connect diverse sectors such as education, culture, healthcare, tourism, and sustainable fashion.
This shift was highlighted during the i-Game Jam Experience in Thessaloniki, organized by our partners, KEPA and CERTH. Participants were challenged to create inclusive digital games focused on sustainable fashion, demonstrating how gaming can raise awareness of environmental and social issues through interactive experiences.
The event brought together game developers, researchers, students, fashion professionals, and technology experts, showcasing how innovation thrives through cross-sector collaboration. The games developed addressed themes such as accessibility, disability inclusion, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability, proving that inclusivity can be embedded at the core of game design.
At the heart of the i-Game project is an open co-creation platform that enables creators from different disciplines to collaborate on game development. The platform supports the design process by generating comprehensive Game Design Documents (GDDs), ensuring a shared vision among developers, designers, and other stakeholders.
Ultimately, the article argues that the perception of video games is changing. They are evolving into platforms for education, participation, and social impact. For Greece, this presents a significant opportunity to leverage its talent, research institutions, and creative industries to position gaming as a strategic sector of the creative economy, one capable of generating innovation, jobs, international visibility, and social value. The i-Game Jam demonstrated not only the creation of new games, but also a new vision for how games can contribute to a more sustainable, creative, and inclusive society.