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Open World Institute

Hack the gap between screen and street.

QuestJam is a 48 hour, multi-location build jam for developers, game designers, artists and technologists creating new tools for real-world adventure.

Proposed · Quarterly from 2027

Host a QuestJamBecome a partner
Illustration: a rooftop workshop at night. People build devices, study city maps on screens and test a headset against the skyline.

48 hrsOne themeMultiple sitesOpen submissions

Start where you fit

The big idea

The next frontier isn't another screen.

Games have taught us how to explore enormous invented worlds.

QuestJam asks what happens when we turn that intelligence back toward the physical one.

Teams prototype software, hardware and experiences that help people navigate cities differently, discover hidden experiences, interact with place, collaborate with strangers and turn everyday environments into playable territory.

The aim is not to escape reality.

It is to increase what reality can do.

How QuestJam works

Four stages, forty-eight hours.

  1. 01

    The theme

    Every QuestJam begins with a shared creative constraint, broad enough to produce radically different answers: thresholds, hidden routes, strangers, memory, weather, signals.

  2. 02

    The jam

    Teams have 48 hours to conceive, prototype and test an idea. Form a team beforehand or meet collaborators at the event.

  3. 03

    The field test

    Prototypes should leave the desk. Teams test with real people, streets, buildings and routes during the jam.

  4. 04

    The showcase

    Every team submits its prototype, documentation and learnings. A public showcase celebrates what was built, including experiments that failed interestingly.

The quest fields

How will you jam?

Four fields to build in. Each can carry a partner's name and its own award.

  • Field 01

    Urban Quest Systems

    Software that makes the physical world navigable, playable and responsive.

    Examples
    • Quest engines
    • Urban orienteering systems
    • Dynamic routing
    • Location-aware games
    • Geofencing
    • Multiplayer field missions
    • Maps and wayfinding
    • Civic discovery tools
    • Real-world progression systems

  • Field 02

    Spatial Experiences

    Digital layers that change what a place can mean or reveal.

    Examples
    • AR experiences
    • Spatial storytelling
    • Immersive tours
    • Mixed-reality encounters
    • Location-based narrative
    • Cultural interpretation
    • Environmental overlays
    • Interactive public art

  • Field 03

    Field Hardware

    Physical devices for interaction beyond the screen.

    Examples
    • Sensors
    • NFC and RFID systems
    • Beacons
    • Interactive props
    • Portable interfaces
    • Haptics
    • Field communication devices
    • Tracking tools
    • Rugged adventure technology

  • Field 04

    Wearables & Human Interfaces

    Technology carried on, or interacting directly with, the human body.

    Examples
    • Smart garments
    • Biometric interfaces
    • Navigation wearables
    • Embodied controls
    • Accessibility systems
    • Live-streaming rigs
    • Heads-up interfaces
    • Safety and field-awareness systems

For participants

Not just developers.

The most interesting real-world experiences rarely come from one discipline. Come with a team, or come alone and find one there.

Each site is led by experienced Hosts who build things themselves. They work alongside teams rather than judging from the sidelines.

Join the first jam
Who jams?
Developers
Software, AI, computer vision, mapping, networking.
Game designers
Rules, progression, player behaviour, systems.
XR creators
AR, VR, spatial computing, interaction.
Artists and storytellers
Worldbuilding, performance, narrative, public art.
Industrial designers and makers
Electronics, fabrication, sensors, physical interfaces.
Researchers
Human behaviour, urbanism, interaction design, HCI.
Adventurers and field testers
The people willing to actually go outside and try the thing.
What help will my team get?

Hosts help teams:

  • Scope concepts
  • Select tools
  • Solve technical problems
  • Design field tests
  • Connect disciplines
  • Recover from dead ends
  • Get something working before the clock runs out
What happens to what we build?

Some projects will stay experiments. Some may become artworks, research or companies. Some may become infrastructure for Open World itself. Submission details will be published with the first jam.

For host venues

Why host a QuestJam?

QuestJam gives institutions a live environment for interdisciplinary experimentation.

Universities

Bring students and researchers together across disciplines, and give them a reason to collaborate around a tangible prototype.

  • Computer science
  • Game design
  • Interaction design
  • Architecture
  • Creative technologies
  • Industrial design
  • Media
  • Performance
  • Urban studies
Technology companies

Put emerging platforms in the hands of inventive builders and see what happens beyond the expected use case.

Developer communities

Meet collaborators, test ambitious ideas and build something that has to survive contact with the actual world.

Cities and cultural organisations

Explore new ways of connecting people with streets, stories, public spaces and local culture.

Roles at each site

Site Host
Runs the local jam.
Field Mentors
Domain specialists.
Technical Mentors
Implementation support.
Field Crew
Testing, logistics and city operations.
Host a siteBecome a mentor
One themeMany sitesOne city showcase
Site ASite BSite CSite DTHEMESHOWCASE

One theme. Many sites.

Each quarterly QuestJam runs across several sites at once, starting in Melbourne. One site might prototype an AR urban myth while another builds a sensor-based quest. Everyone works to the same theme and deadline, and every site’s submissions come together in one showcase for that city.

As QuestJam reaches other cities, each will hold its own showcase. An annual awards bringing the cities together is under consideration.

Proposed 2027 pilot season
Q1
Pilot Jam
Q2
Expanded Australian sites
Q3
International partner sites
Q4
Annual showcase

What QuestJam is trying to create

A new toolset for physical life.

We have extraordinary infrastructure for helping humans navigate digital worlds.

QuestJam asks what equivalent tools might exist for the physical one.

Some projects will remain experiments. Some may become artworks, research or companies. And some may give people entirely new reasons to walk out their front door.

  • Curiosity
  • Adventure
  • Serendipity
  • Social interaction
  • Urban exploration
  • Embodied play
  • Participatory culture
DeparturesSites now being explored

We’re currently speaking with universities, technology companies, creative organisations and developer communities interested in helping establish the first QuestJam network.

QuestJam is a proposal. The 2027 season, its sites, partners and awards are not yet confirmed.

Host a siteSponsor a fieldBecome a mentorJoin the first jam

Build tools for worlds you can actually walk into.