Apocalypse Jam 2024

Hosted by bismod · #apocalypsegamejam

Entries

Ratings

Overview Submissions

Community10

Screenshots Submission feed

This jam is now over. It ran from 2024-10-11 14:00:00 to 2024-10-28 02:00:00. View 13 entries

Apocalypse Jam 2024 Ranking Period

Ranking period has been extended to Friday, November 8th at 5pm PST / 8pm PST / (Nov 9) 2:00 CET.

Results and Awards Announcement will now go out Friday, November 15th at 9am PST / 12 Noon EST / 18:00 CET.

Themes

Apocalypse (main)
Bug Out
Eschatology
AI
Cult

(check out what we mean for these categories below)

Submission Deadline: Sunday, October 27 at 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT / (Oct 28) 3:00 CET

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apocalypse Jam is about the end of the world in all its forms.

Entries can be about the collapse of society and nature, sudden disasters, or post-cataclysmic survival scenarios. Your apocalypse can be literal or figurative, a historical doomsday, a pessimistic future, or something completely off-the-wall.

Running about 6 months after Earth Day, Apocalypse Jam is meant to be a fun and cathartic break from worrying about the world's problems. The vibe is "c’est la vie", an end of the world party. This jam itself isn't focused on awareness and solutions but also isn't actively rooting for death and destruction. Instead, it's using the concept of "apocalypse" as a jumping off point for creativity and as a form of mental relief.

This is Apocalypse Jam's third year!
Apocalypse Jam 2023's results: https://itch.io/jam/apocalypse-jam-2023/results
Apocalypse Jam 2022's results: https://itch.io/jam/apocalypse-jam-2022/results

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Schedule

(be mindful of daylight savings changing)

Kickoff: Friday, October 11th at 7am PDT / 10am EDT / 16:00 CEST
Submission Deadline / Voting Begins: Sunday, October 27 at 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT / (Oct 28) 3:00 CET
Voting Ends: Thursday, November 8th at 5pm PST / 8pm PST / (Nov 6) 2:00 CET
Results and Awards Announced: Friday, November 15th at 9am PST / 12 Noon EST / 18:00 CET

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Themes

The main theme every year is Apocalypse: the collapse of society and nature, sudden disasters, post-cataclysmic survival scenarios, literal or figurative apocalypse, a historical doomsday, a pessimistic future, or some completely off-the-wall interpretation.

This year we have four optional subthemes. These themes are all up for their own voting category and can be seen as a jumping off point for your ideas:

Bug Out Games related to emergency prepping, survivalism, prepper culture, and what you have in your bug out bag.

Eschatology Games related to mythological prophecies about the end of the world such as Ragnarök in Norse mythology, the end of the Fifth Sun in Aztec beliefs, and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, etc.

AI Games related to how Artificial Intelligence might irrevocably change or utterly destroy humanity. These games can be about simulated minds, machines gaining true consciousness, or generative AI like ChatGPT that’s already making an impact on the world.*

Cult This theme is for games about doomsday cults and ushering in the end-of-the-world through supernatural means or shared ideals.

Jammers are encouraged to incorporate the main theme: Apocalypse, and at least one of the subthemes. Inclusion can be literal, symbolic, or just using a theme as a jumping off point. However, if you have a great idea that only reflects one of the themes that's completely fine.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord

Join the Apocalypse Jam Discord to chat with other jammers, show off your progress, and share other apocalyptic games. https://discord.gg/JM4v6nQQbr

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Participation

Any kinds of games are accepted so long as you can submit via itch.io.

Jammers may use pre-existing assets to make their games.

To be eligible for the awards, games must be assembled during the duration of the jam, however brainstorming can begin beforehand. Cross-jam submissions are allowed if their timeframe is within the run of this jam.

Due to our theme, games with heavy content are expected (though not required). Please make sure to include a content warning when submitting.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submitting

Submissions are due Sunday, October 27 at 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT / (Oct 28) 3:00 CET

You are strongly encouraged to triple-check your materials and submit early. Once the submission deadline has been reached there will be a two hour grace period for technical issues with the submission process but that is it.

Any later submissions can be shared, but are not eligible for the award categories.

If you have a game you've previously made that really fits the theme you are invited to share it, but it will not be eligible for awards.

Reminder: all of your team members should be listed as contributors on your submitted project if they have an itch.io account. Whoever is hosting the project on their itch.io account needs to go to the project navbar, go to More->Admins, and add the rest of your team as admins. This will make it so that they are listed as Contributors on your jam submission and can vote on the games.

We ask for the following when you submit:

Short description of your game
Relevant tags such as: Adventure, Roguelike, Strategy, VR, Driving, Puzzle, Horror, Pixel Art, Surreal, etc.
Use of theme(s): provide a short description of how you incorporated your chosen theme(s)
Content warnings
Number of team members
Confirm that you created your submission during the course of the jam
(optional) Where are you from?
Contact info (for the organizers)

After you submit, we'd like you to provide a video clip from your game that can be used in the results announcement video, details to come.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Voting and Awards

Submitters and Contributors may vote from the end of the jam until Friday, November 8th at 5pm PST / 8pm PST / (Nov 9) 2:00 CET.

How you interpret the voting categories is up to you. You vote on game elements (audio, visual, mechanics, etc.), use of the themes, and Best Overall submission.

Submitters and Contributors will vote on the best overall entry, which will receive the Submitter's Choice award.

Judges will make the final decisions on the winners for Best Overall, best use of Apocalypse, and best use of each of the subthemes.

If anyone is not participating but would like to help us judge the games please reach out to apocalypsegamejam@gmail.com

Awards will be posted and announced Friday, November 15th at 9am PST / 12 Noon EST / 18:00 CET.

Submitters and Contributors will rank games on the following criteria:

AESTHETICS - This includes visuals, graphics, sound design, music, and VO. Consider quality, uniqueness, effectiveness, and how these engage with the intention of the game and the themes.
WRITING - This includes story, dialogue, and UI language. Consider quality, uniqueness, effectiveness, and how these engage with the intention of the game and the themes.
GAMEPLAY - This includes game mechanics, gameplay design, and the overall experience of play. Consider quality, uniqueness, effectiveness, how engaging, fun, or enjoyable it is. Consider how these factors engage with the intention of the game and the themes.
INNOVATION - Consider how unique or innovative the game or the subject matter is.
THEME - How well does this game incorporate the main theme (Apocalypse) or any chosen subthemes?
SUBMITTER'S CHOICE - Your pick for top game overall for the jam. Consider the other criteria, whether it stands out, how polished it is, etc.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prizes

The Best Overall and the Submitter's Choice teams will each receive a 100% off discount code to submit one game to IndieCade 2025!
All award winners will receive jam-branded patches, and a 20% off discount code to submit to IndieCade 2025.

Please reach out if you want to contribute something else as a prize!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contributors

IndieCade Festival 2024 is happening November 8th thought 16th with a one week Steam event, the Festival Awards, post-mortems, show-and-tells, and the Night Games, and in-person in Downtown LA. Learn more and stay tuned here: https://www.indiecade.com/festival-2024/

IndieCade is involved in a number of game jams including Climate Jam, the tongue-in-cheek inspiration for our jam here. If you enjoy jamming and want something a little more hopeful, check it out and join next year!

IndieCade is providing a free submission for IndieCade 2025 for each of the two top winning games as well as a 20% off discount for the other winning game teams!