It's time for spooks!

But not just any spooks... it's time for your own spooks! Come join us and make some games which you can share with your friends. (And earn prizes!)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with game jams, they are events in which developers (either solo or in teams) build a game from start to finish in a very short amount of time. It's a great time to try new things, put your skills to the test, and make some friends!

Unlike most jams, this ones is focused on making specifically a horror game. But even with this limitation, there's a lot of ways to scare your players. Maybe you'll put your players in a hostile world where every bullet counts. Or your player may need to uncover some horrible truth, waiting at the end of a dark hallway. But you also could be way more subtle, building a world where something's... off.

Whether you've never made a game or you've made dozens, we hope you'll join the fun!

In addition to signing up on this page, we would appreciate it if you'd also sign up here through this form. We'll be using this info to distribute prizes.

Finally, you may join the  jam-specific Discord server here: https://discord.gg/rgDwnpE

Theme: Friends

Theme will be announced in the kickoff life stream. Even though you'll be building a horror game, there will still be some theme which you'll need to build into your game.

Judging and Prizes

Entries will be judged by our wonderful panel of judges. (we'll let you know who they are once we get closer to the jam itself. Stay tuned!) Tentatively, results will be announced a week after the jam ends. We will, however, push back this deadline as necessary.

Judges will be ranking the games on the following criteria (on a scale from 1-5):

• Fear-factor: How scary is the game? Though this includes in-your-face scares, it also includes more subtle kinds of fear, like an unsettling environment or plot. Some games may be frightening in the moment, while others may just leave the player feeling... uneasy, even after they close the game. Note that this category is worth double!
• Usage of Theme: How well does your game use the theme? Is it an interesting twist on the idea? Does it integrate the theme in an intuitive way?
• Playability: How playable is the game? This includes things like controls, interface, and stability. No game is perfect, and some bugs are understandable when making a jam game. However, it's definitely worthwhile to perform some play-testing and find issues that would hurt your game's playability!

Each member of the winning teams will get the following:

• First place: $45 Steam Credit
• Second place: $30 Steam Credit
• Third place: $15 Steam Credit

FAQ

• Do I need to be on campus to participate?
  Nope! This event is entirely online.
• Do I need to be a Cal Poly Pomona student to participate?
  Nope! Feel free to invite your friends from other schools!
• But... I'll be busy on Halloween! D:  (Or: Do I need to participate for the whole time?)
  If there's times where you can't work on a game (whether for other Halloween happenings, homework, etc.), that's totally fine! Most everyone participating will be busy. That's why we've made this run for a few days... then things are more flexible! It's still totally possible to make a game in just a day, or even just 12 hours. Or maybe you can only work a few hours each day; that's also fine! Just make sure to let your team know, and try to keep limit your scope appropriately.
• Do I need a team to participate?
  No, you can work solo. Just before the team is announced, we'll give people some time to team up before the theme is announced. If you already know some people you'd like to team up with, that works too!
• How many people can be on one team?
  Up to 4 people per team.
• What are we allowed to use when making the game? (Or: Can I use asset X in the jam?)
  Generally, yes. Depending on the composition of your team, you may not have the skills necessary for certain things. For that reason, if there are assets on an asset store you'd like to use or if you have some pieces of code you can recycle from past projects, go ahead!
  • However, do not take a game made before the jam and use it as a starting point. If you do this, you will be disqualified and Itch.io might get after you! Within reason, you could use an engine's template or example project (e.g. Unreal's 3rd person template), but it's against the spirit of the jam to use an large project you or someone else built before-hand.
  • If you are ever unsure about this rule, ask one of the coordinators. We're more than happy to make clarifications.

• Are there any limits to what we can make?
  Yes, though as long as you follow a few guidelines, we'll be fairly lenient.
  • First of all, your entry must abide by Itch's terms of service, with the third section being especially relevant.
  • Second, you must be able to legally use any assets that are in your game. And don't go violating copyright law, either!
  • Third, typically we keep a mostly PG-13 environment in the club. If you'd like to do something that goes beyond that, please put an adequate content warning. (If you want to provide a reasonable content warning without being too specific, refer to Doki Doki Literature Club!, though if you choose to look more into that game, do be warned that the game is very psychologically disturbing.)