Save children's lives. Learn from pros. Elevate your skills.

Welcome to Cause Jam! We're Games For Love, a nonprofit dedicated to easing suffering, saving lives, and creating sustainable futures for children. Our tagline is Helping Kids For Life.®

Have you ever wanted to make a difference with your game jam games? Most of the time, they get lost in the nether, never to see the light of day unless you're one of the top 1%. What if instead, you could create great game jam games, learn from and interact directly with professionals in the games industry, and save lives while you're doing it?

This isn't just your ordinary game jam. This is a game jam that can help kids for life. 

Every game created in Cause Jam will be judged first by the community, and then second industry professionals. Quarterly we take the stand-out projects and add them into bundles which will be sold to raise money for children in hospitals. The best games will be featured, win awards, and may be brought to professional industry conferences to get recognition. Some projects can even become stand-alone titles to be polished with regular support and input of active industry veterans.

Are you ready to not just take part in a game jam, but help kids for life?

The Theme for this Game Jam is:

Redemption.

About every 3 months we will release a Charity Bundle. This Cause Jam is one of three planned to create games for the Charity Bundle, which the title is yet to be announced for the combination of the 3 themes. 

How do I get involved?

1. Register at https://bit.ly/CauseJam 
2. Join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/DUrcHGE, + This is where you can connect with other devs and build a team + Feel free to bring your own team or work solo if you'd like + Get coaching and feedback from industry vets + Be a part of the jam kick off on September 2nd at 5pm PST (Link below!)
3. Make your awesome game, following the rules and requirements below and on the website (yay rules!):

Cause Jam Rules

• The game can be made in any engine.
• You can work alone or in a team of any size (you can come as a team or join one in our Discord server!).
• The game must be created during the jam; no previous projects can be brought in (previous assets, code, and packages may be used, as long as you either have full rights over them or they are under a Creative Commons CC0 license).
• Games must be developed as E for Everyone. No NSFW, offensive, gory/overly violent, etc. content.
• Games must not contain controversial topics, such as politics, religion, cussing, references to drugs, alcohol, or sex.
• Final submissions must include:
  • A build that is playable on desktop PC, without any external software (can include other build platforms, but must include PC)
  • A zip folder of your project files
  • The Itch page must include a description of the game, the engine it's made in, and promotional graphics
  • Bonus: GIF explaining the game
  • Bonus: Promo video explaining the game

Schedule

These times are to be a part of the community to show off your stuff, get coaching, and to generally have an excellent and fun event! 

All times are in Pacific Time.

On self-care

Game Jams are typically a lot of crunch over a short period of time. We don't want that. This is why we have extended our jam a month.

We recommend you max out at 10 hours per week volunteering. But use your best judgment. Take frequent breaks- take a walk, play a board game, hang out with your friends or family. If you start feeling fatigued, rest. Tell leads when you need a "breather" and take a few days away from the project when needed.

We believe in balance, not sacrifice. Don't sacrifice your mental or physical health to positively impact a child's through your projects. We want you to ALSO be positively impacted and feel good about what you are doing and how you are doing it.

If you wake up excited to volunteer on your project and can't wait, that is spectacular- that means you are passionate about it and in the right place at the right time contributing. Just do so responsibly. 

We would rather you volunteer 5 hours per week comfortably (which is a total of 260 hours over a full year) than that you volunteer 260 hours in 2 weeks and be burnt out. You are far more impactful to help impact the lives of children over many, many short sprints over time, than 1 quick marathon!

Rating

All games will be rated in the following categories:

• Fun: Was it enjoyable to play?
• Aesthetic: Were the visuals, audio, etc cohesive and appealing?
• Thematic: Did it match the theme?
• Sound/Music: How amazing is your sound?

Members of the Games for Love community and the public will be able to judge these games over a one-week period. The final awarding will happen from Games For Love's leadership and industry Vets.

About the Cause:

Games For Love is a 501(c)(3) public Charity dedicated to easing suffering, saving lives, and creating sustainable futures for children. All revenues generated go back into the org as donations to bring impact to children in hospitals and helping kids for life. How cool is it that you can do what you love, and by doing what you love, could have an opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life? We are honored and privileged to do that every day! More info on Games For Love on our official website: https://gamesforlove.org