First Foot Forward February – writing / video jam

What would happen if you analysed games beginning with the question, ‘what is the first choice that the player makes?’

In First Foot Forward February, we’re collecting critical perspectives on games that focus on the earliest moment of player agency.

In some games it might be naming the player character – in others, perhaps it’s choosing which nation-state to play as, or breaking your first block. Some games break the pattern entirely in a way that could be read as an interesting statement about the overall narrative intention of the developers – for example, naming the dog in Kentucky Route Zero, or choosing which sensitive content to filter out in Glitchhikers.

How to join in

  • Work in any medium will be accepted, but this writing jam is particularly suited to short-form videos of 3 minutes or less
  • Post on Tiktok, Instagram, or Youtube with the hashtag #firstfootforwardfeb,
  • and/or use the #jam channel on the Critical Distance Discord to share what you’re working on.

At the end of the month, we’ll share a roundup post to show off all the jam entries.