This jam is now over. It ran from 2023-12-01 05:00:00 to 2024-01-01 04:59:59.

This is a casual jam for creating DOS games and games that would fit in with the games released for the DOS operating system during the 80s and 90s. DOS utilities, zines about DOS games, and tabletop games inspired by games from that era are welcome too! There's no voting in this game jam so feel free to experiment and try new things.

This jam will be different from previous years in that we are also compiling a free DOS shareware cd. When you submit your game, there will be a field asking if you would like to be contacted about having your game included. It's optional and it's completely ok to say you aren't interested. Since the cd will be free, we cannot compensate people to have their game or application included but demos of your game are welcome too.

If you're looking for inspiration, consider checking out some of the games here or entries from the previous DOS Games June 2023 Jam, 2022 End of the Year Jam, DOS August Jam, DOS Games Spring Jam, DOS Games Autumn Jam, 2021 End of the Year Jam, and original DOS Games Jam.

Here are some tools to help you in the game jam:

  • PunyInform is a library written in Inform 6 which allows people to create text adventure games / interactive fiction to be played on 8-bit computers as well as newer platforms.
  • LoveDOS - A framework for making 2D DOS games in Lua.
  • dos-like is a programming library/framework, kind of like a tiny game engine, for writing games and programs with a similar feel to MS-DOS productions from the early 90s.
  • Lantern Text-Adventure IDE lets devs create text adventures for retro computers in an approachable way
  • DOjS is a JavaScript programming environment for systems running MS-DOS, FreeDOS or any DOS based Windows (like 95, 98, ME).
  • jSH is a script interpreter for DOS based operating systems like MS-DOS, FreeDOS or any DOS based Windows (like 95, 98, ME).
  • A guide to compiling DOS games with Allegro

This game is hosted by the DOS Shareware Zone discord community. If you have any questions about the jam or developing games for DOS, feel free to ask in there or on the discussion group for the jam on Itch.

RULES

  • If you do not create a DOS game, the submission must be inspired by PC games from the DOS era - It should somehow use the aesthetics of DOS games or be inspired by games from that era. Games can be for any platform. This jam is just a celebration of games from that era. Tabletop games inspired by DOS games, zines about DOS games, and applications inspired by DOS-utilities are welcome too. When you submit your game, state what DOS games it was inspired by if it is not a DOS game.
  • Any state of work is fair to submit - Games can be previously-published, starting from scratch, current works-in-progress, etc. Games that were submitted to previous jams are allowed but must have big updates developed for the game since then.
  • Games in any language are fine to submit.
  • You can submit any number of games.
  • Games created for the jam can be at any price point - Games created for jams are often free but if you feel like charging for your game, go for it!
  • Include content warnings on the game's page if your game includes any material that could be considered adult or sensitive.
  • Bigoted content of any kind is not allowed and will be removed from the jam.