One of the best things about February is Emilie Reed’s writing jam, an annual event where writers get to explore a unique angle on game criticism and history. Every year, Reed selects a new prompt — like lost game histories, making lists, or speculation about the future of games — and lets everyone go wild with it. It’s a great exercise that helps me get out of my head and write without inhibitions, expectations, or proofreading. Even if I’m not completely satisfied with the results, it gets me jazzed about writing again after a long and (always) unproductive winter.

This year’s prompt is “undo”: going back into video game history and undoing one thing, then seeing how it plays out in the future. It’s basically a chance to write about an alternate history of video games. What would happen if you could change one minor event? How would it ripple out throughout game history and video game culture?

I’m sharing this here to encourage people to participate! I’m still adjusting to my new job at the Video Game History Foundation, so The Obscuritory will be going through another slow phase. But in the meantime, there’s lots of fun to be had with game history, and this jam is a great opportunity. I’m working on a submission that might be one of my first at-length pieces about Nintendo, which is fun and different for me since I usually steer elsewhere in my writing. It’s probably going to be a mess, but that’s the point of a writing jam! Shake off the dust! Let the words flow through you!

Submissions are open through Sunday. I can’t wait to see what everyone submits!