What is Vaporwave?

Vaporwave "is a retrofuturist aesthetic and music genre that branched off from Hypnagogic Pop in the early 2010s. Characterized by its nostalgic and surreal atmosphere, Vaporwave blends electronic music with chopped and screwed and samples, while also featuring a distinct visual style that pays homage to bygone eras of popular culture (typically aesthetics such as Laser Grid, Memphis Design/Memphis Lite, Y2K Futurism, and Frutiger Aero)." - via aesthetics.fandom

For more information, examples, and subgenres, check out the following links:

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Vaporwave

https://cari.institute/aesthetics/vaporwave

Looking for teammates?  Or need any technical help?

1. Make a post in our discord!  https://discord.gg/eEF9my5fn9

2. For visual novel help, check out DevTalk! DevTalk is a visual novel server dedicated to the business of making visual novels.  It has a large and active community of very pleasant people.  If you want to make a visual novel for this jam, check out this server! https://discord.gg/devtalk

3. If you're working with Twine, check out Twine Games!  It's a server dedicated to helping Twine users with the technical aspects of using the program.  You can also post a link to your Twine game for bug-testing and critique.  They also have threads for Deutsch, Francais, and Espanol.  https://discord.gg/EvvFwWxh2c

4. Make a post in the community section of the jam!

Rules

1. The game must follow the Vaporwave aesthetic.  This includes the visual style, music, and themes.  
   1. You do not have to include all three in your game.  For instance, you could create a visual novel with Vaporwave visuals, but no Vaporwave music or themes.  The main requirement is that it must feel vaporwave.  This is an aesthetic jam, after all.
   2. If you choose to create a text-based game (made with Twine, for instance), you do not have to include images or music in your game (although both will certainly enhance your game).  But your game must evoke a sense of Vaporwave in its textual descriptions or themes.
2. You may use any engine or program you wish, from Twine to Unreal Engine 5.  There are many engines and programs available for download on Itch.io that you may use.
3. You may create any genre of game as long as it is not NSFW.  Romance, horror, browser games, or first-person shooters, they’re all available.  If applicable, please include any content warnings on the game page.
4. You may work in teams or individually.  Teams may be of any size.
5. No AI content of any sort.  Please ethically source your assets.  Unsplash.com is a great source for free images.  (I used photos from Unsplash to make the cover image for this jam!)
6. No games that are bigoted or promote hatred. Not only is it against the spirit of Vaporwave, but it is also wrong and unkind.
7. You may submit demos and unfinished games.
8. You may do pre-planning for your games before the jam starts, but the majority of the game must be worked on during the jam time itself.  Before the jam starts, you may: make your teams, gather pre-made assets, create an outline or plan for your game, create concept art.
9. If your game focuses on a specific subgenre of Vaporwave (such as Dreampunk or Hypnagogic Drift), please mention that on your game page.  That way we can all enjoy the variety of style present in vaporwave!
10. Games must be free to play during the submission and voting period.  Afterwards, you may add a price.

HAVE FUN!