Welcome to The Brainless Game Jam! This is a 2 week long event where you have to make a game following a specific theme. Beginners are welcome and very encouraged to participate (there is a prize for first-time jammers!)

As usual with game jams, you are free to make a game of any size and scope, but I REALLY IMPLORE YOU to keep a small scope even though 2 weeks sounds like a lot of time (it is not 😭). I'm hoping that having 2 weeks will let people with less spare time be able to make something, or give beginners more padding to learn and work on their games!

Like I said in the last jam, no matter the theme, I'd still recommend making a small game. If you are OH SO ADAMANT about making a larger game, be my guest, just know that scope is the LAST THING that I’ll be judging on. Please don't get stuck in the scope creep hole after week 1 and have to scrap/rush your games 😭

That being said, good luck on the jam, and make sure to have fun! ♥️♥️♥️

Jam Info

The jam submissions will be open from July 1st 2:00PM EST - July 15th 11:59PM EST.

The judging will run from July 16th 12:00AM EST until July 21st 2:00PM EST.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm gonna be playing every single game this time, but I'll try to get through as many as I can! 

Rules

1. Up to 5 member teams are allowed.
2. Any game engine / programming language / thing to make games is allowed for this jam. It doesn’t NEED to be playable in the browser, but it is very super duper extremely recommended so everybody can play your game super easily.
3. Please don't use generative AI or assets that don't belong to you. You can use any asset packs that are free or ones that you have the right to use.
4. No NSFW or offensive content please. If your game has potentially sensitive content (blood, gore, etc.) make sure to have a warning so players can have a heads up!
5. Make sure that your game follows the Discord server’s rules.

Judging

The judging will be similar to the mini-jam, where teams/people that submit games will be able to rank other games. I still don't know how to do the "overall" thing so we may need to whip out Excel (not sponsored) again to calculate final scores 😭

Connection to theme - How well did the game match the jam's theme?

Enjoyment - Magnitude of fun experienced while playing the game.

Presentation - Overall presentation of the game: art, music, animations, and other features that may instill awe into the hearts of players.

Gameplay - How intuitive was the gameplay? Were the mechanics smooth and well made?

Creativity - Was the game super out-there and zany given the theme? Was it experimental and/or did it try fun and interesting new things?

Theme

The theme of The Brainless Game Jam is Little Guys! See the announcement video here for some ideas and clarifications!

Winning

Winners will get a custom role in the Discord server and will get a special gift at the end of the month! No spoilers but it is indeed very cool and totally way better than money so treat it as if it was 1 million dollars! (it is not 1 million dollars)

Community

 - The first place overall community voted-on game!

Brainless.’s favorite

 - My favorite game from the jam!

Best First Timer

 - The highest community-rated game from a first time jammer! (will not overlap with community vote)

FAQ

- Can I do multiple submissions? 

Yes.

- Can I be on multiple teams? 

Yes.

- What counts as a first time jammer?

This has to be your first time submitting a game to a game jam. If you did a game jam in the past and didn't submit a game, you can still count yourself as a first time game jammer.

- If I'm in a team, does the whole team need to be new to meet the first time jammer requirements?

Yes, the entire team has to be first time jammers.

- Can I edit my submission?

You can submit, resubmit, edit, change your itch page, etc. as much as you'd like during the submission period. After the submission period is up, I'll allow 24hrs of fixing for any GAME DESTROYING bugs and issues of cataclysmic proportions. After that, no more editing until the judging period is over.