Third Manifesto Jam Confronts 'Slop' and Publishing Illusions

Starting in 2018, game developers have participated in Manifesto Jam, a recurring game jam that doubles as an opportunity for indie makers and zinesters to get a few things off their chest. In its third outing, in 2026, there is no shortage of tough talks and hard truths to exhume, and the most popular submissions so far are proving to be especially bitter pills for an independent artist to swallow.

This year’s host, cecile richard, set the tone in the Manifesto Jam manifesto: “I’m sick of takeaways and I’m sick of talking around games and never dipping below the surface. The manifesto, in my imagined alternative, is the ugly smear on the polished surfaces of conference keynotes, aspirational #bizdev posts and job-ready portfolio pieces.

The manifesto is awkward, clunky, impractical, confronting, uncompromising, defiant: all qualifiers undesirable in an increasingly professionalised, corporatised game making ecosystem.

manifesto jam, game jam, indie makers, zinesters, cecile richard, manifesto, bizdev, conference keynotes, portfolio pieces, corporatised