Hey Jammers, 

due to the current Corona pandemic, our daily lives have been changed tremendously. The best thing you can now do is stay home and act responsibly. This is a strange and eerie time. But it’s also a time for solidarity, collaboration and mutual support. We want to make the best out of the current circumstances and take the opportunity to collaborate - make games and be creative. 
So, let’s change the narrative from “Don’t use the playground” to “Build your own playground”. 

At the “Don’t use the playground” Jam, you have 48 hours to create your own games and have a good time with fellow programmers, artists, animators, musicians, storytellers, designers and everyone who is interested in developing their own games. Create any game from any genre with any engine, language and tools you’d like to. 

We are looking for games to make curfews a bit more playful, staying home a bit more delightful and working from home with a bit more ease. Of course, you can either make a video or a board game. Or … why not both? Create the board game you’re craving to play with your friends while you are all sitting at home. May it be, that you always had a secret pleasure for Monopoly (The Disney Edition) or are a huge chess geek, or simple because you just finished Chrome’s No Internet T-Rex infinite runner game - in this game jam you can tailor your own playground, and even add the rules that you’ve always been missing. So, let’s get started - stay safe! Jam on! 

We start the game jam on Friday night, 6 pm. (CEST)  with the theme announcement and a team forming phase, where we’ll help you to find your team in Discord. From that moment on, the motto is Jam! Jam! Jam! During the DUTP Jam, we’ll have some streams on Twitch, where we’ll talk about the current situation and awesome initiatives by fellow developers and friends, broadcast and play your games with you and have a good time together! On Sunday, 6 pm (CEST), the Jam will be over.

So, what do you need? A laptop, a creative mindset and enough food supplies, that you can stay home safely. Don’t feel bothered if you don’t have too many game developing experiences yet. The Jam is for everyone! Have fun!

The “Don’t use the playground” Jam is initiated by Celina, Julia, Neslihan and Niklas from img.ly. We are highly supported by the whole img.ly team, the awesome 9elements crew and the lovely peeps of Indiestrolche. 

Rules

• Follow the theme - All games should be developed around the given theme, but of course you can interpret the theme as tight or loosely as you want to. The theme will be announced at the beginning of the jam.
• Scrap, not crap - All games should be created from zero as part of the Jam.
• Optional: The internet is dangerous to go alone, take a friend with you - Try to make an online multiplayer game to play together with your colleagues, friends and family!

Theme

Ranking

All submissions can be voted by all participants, so make sure to keep to the theme. ;) 
In addition, we have a special prize award for all online multiplayer games! There will be a separate jury for the online multiplayer requirement to rank and reward this category. If you want to take part in this category, make sure to click "Yes" in the requirement field once you submit your game!

Resources 👾

In terms of resources, feel free to use any engine, framework or language that you like. Create your own music, graphics, and designs, or use existing assets, but please make sure that you either own or license them, or that they are free for use. If you need some more inspiration, have a look here:

• Awesomely detailed list by Ciro Continisio (GGJ Rome): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qQf5zjvJHEB40xYhTiFo9GzNYUBt8iAw8vzPu2Oy354/...
• The toolbox of Ludum Dare (or the mother of Game Jams, can’t we say so?): http://ludumdare.com/compo/tools/
• Plus some curated links about online multiplayer games for you:
  https://kb.tabletopsimulator.com/
  https://developers.airconsole.com/
  https://www.photonengine.com/en-us/Photon
  https://www.smartfoxserver.com/
  https://unity.com/solutions/multiplayer-services
  https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/Gameplay/Networking
  https://developer.android.com/games
  https://developer.apple.com/games/
• Great CC licensed and/or royalty free music: 
  http://dig.ccmixter.org/free
  https://freemusicarchive.org/

If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to us via gamejam@img.ly or use the Discord channels to drop all the questions that already prey on your mind!

#StaySafe

We want you to be safe throughout the jam, collaborate and have a good time together. It’s not about Social Distancing, so maybe let’s call it Healthy Distancing. Being social, but distancing to #flattenthecurve. So, here are some more tips to survive a 48-hour-Game Jam:

• Provide yourself with food and drinking supplies for the whole weekend - and maybe have a virtual pizza with your Jam team once in a while.
• Stay hydrated, stay energized! There’s no need to overwork yourself. Getting a snatch full of sleep is the best way to recharge your batteries and be back to 100 percent. 
• Have fun! Maybe the most important rule, meaning, be nice to each other cherish what you do, be respectful, do not harass, don’t post racist, sexist, homophobic content or spam. Just have a good time and enjoy jamming! :) 

Join! 

We love real-life game jams. That’s why we try to make at least feel like a real-life jam. At the very heart of this Jam will be the #DUTP discord server, where the magic happens. ;) Meaning, here you can introduce yourself, find a team, pitch your game idea, or just post sassy GIFs. 

So here are some links to follow throughout the weekend:

Itch.io: https://itch.io/jam/do-not-use-the-playground
Discord: https://discord.gg/nwvnx7Y
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/imglygamejam
Twitter: https://twitter.com/imgly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/img.ly/

Jam on! Stay safe! <3