We are the Neurodiversity Foundation, a happy bunch on a mission to make the world a more neuroinclusive place, where every kind of mind feels welcome and valued. And guess what, we make games, too!
We have a webpage for our game jam, so if you want even more information on who we are you can find more here: ND Pride Game Jam Webpage!
As part of our 2026 Neurodiversity Pride celebrations we're having an annual game jam and it's more than just a fun challenge: it's a celebration of everything we stand for and believe in. It’s a space for neurodivergent creators (and our allies) to express the ways we experience and see the world through games. The most prideful thing we can do is express ourselves freely, and this game jam is just the space to do so!
So hey, come! Let's build something big, small, text based, visual novels, 2d, 3d, 4d... amaze us! You don't even have to be a game developer, you just have to want to tell a story: just come on our Discord and let's jam! Any contribution is a good contribution - game jams are all about rough small projects - perfect for expressing oneself. Our Discord is designed to support different levels of experiences and try to make a collaborative environment between those experiences. Anyone can make a game and we have a list of resources you can use to do so!
The theme of the jam is Neurodivergent Experiences.
Tell us about how you experience the world, or how it experiences you. What’s in your head? What is the story you want to tell? What experiences do you want to share with us? This can be expressed as explicitly or abstractly as you wish - it’s all up to you, as long as it touches on neurodivergent experiences in some way!
Additionally, the Neurodiversity Pride 2026 has a theme:
Every Brain Is Beautiful
If you need a few bonus ideas, here's a few sub-themes you could start plotting around:
- Actions: acting, travelling, writing, talking
- Objects: bed, television, couch, rug
- Sensation: sour, spicy, cold, numb
- Others and I: relationships, friendships, family, strangers, community
The subthemes are completely optional! It is up to you to use them or not- it merely is just a way to narrow down what you may want to make if you need it.
- Because of the difficulty, cost of, and barriers around getting diagnosed, neurodivergent participants do not have to be diagnosed to participate. Engaging in discourse around diagnosis outside of a reflection made for the game is not allowed! We are here for everyone, regardless of formal diagnosis.
- This space is primarily for neurodivergent participants, but allies are welcome too, as long as they uphold the need for neurodivergent voices to be front and center for this game jam.
- You can use any engine or tools you’re comfortable with, but please try to make a build of your game that can be played in browser, for maximum accessibility if possible.
- You can use public domain or free-to-use assets, please credit the items and their creators according to their rules!
- You can also use code, images, audio or anything else that you made before in this game jam!
- No use of AI-generated assets is allowed, including text, images, audio, code, or anything else for your game. Games with AI will be removed from the game jam.
- Sensitive topics (violence, mental health issues, substance use, etc.) are allowed within reason. If your game deals with sensitive topics and you are concerned if it will be taken as discriminatory without reason, Please reach out to us to discuss. Games that are deemed hateful without reason/critique will be removed from the game jam. Please make sure to give content warnings before the game starts if your game has sensitive content.
- This game jam is for people of all ages, and may include minor game jammers! For this reason, please keep this in mind if you want to make games that speak about NSFW (Not Safe For Work- typically referring to sexual topics) content, and tag it beforehand as such and give content warnings before the game starts. In addition, public forums such as Discord does not allow for any explicit mention of NSFW content.
- You can start working on the game before the game jam begins. This includes designing, planning, making art for, coding and building the game before the jam begins.
And also, team up! If you want to look for a team, you can do it here on Itch (just post in the community tab) or on Discord. Even if you've never made a game before, but you want to be part of something awesome and let your story be told, we have mentors ready to help and a section where you can team up with other jammers on the discord, so join us and make your first game!
On June 23rd we'll have a little after-jam party on Twitch, play some games, honour the makers and have some fun talking about neurodiversity experiences. Come join us https://www.twitch.tv/neurodiversity_foundation
All submitted games might be featured in the stream, as we truly want to showcase your beautiful creations. We might also post your games on the Neurodiversity Foundation website for eternal glory and we assume you're ok with this. That said, if you want to opt out, just reach out to the admins here or on Discord, or indicate it in your submission!
If you want to ask questions, find teammates or just have a chat, you can find us on the game jam's Discord. Come!
Here is another link to the Discord here! https://discord.gg/RuDtdw4WJd
We aren't the first to do something like this, and those people have also made a wonderful list of resources.
We have a list of resources on our website, which you can find here: https://ndpridegamejam.com/resources/
Please, if you are curious about previous game jams that have done similarly, check out Neurodiversity in Games Jam 2023 ! They have a wonderful set up talking about what Neurodiversity is!
Some sources sourced from Neurodiversity in Games Jam 2023:
- Accessibility Resources for Gaming - https://writingalchemy.net/podcast-2/unfamiliar-heroes/accessibility-resources-for-gaming/
- Game Accessibility Guidelines - http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/
- Reimagining Disability In Role-playing Games - http://analoggamestudies.org/2015/02/reimagining-disability-in-role-playing-games/
- Game Accessibility - https://www.game-accessibility.com/
The wonderful people at GAMERella have made a great list of engines and other tools to help with game design- check them out here!