8 Bits to Infinity presents Duality Jam, a week-long challenge to create a game emphasizing some concept of duality, like opposing elements, black vs. white, up vs. down, etc..

Thanks to Erick Zanardo (CptBlackPixel) for the awesome logo!

The theme is: MIRROR WORLDS

What is 8 Bits to Infinity? A game development community improving creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest critical feedback. Find out more by visiting our website and join our community on Discord.

We host a new game jam every month here on itch.io! Our previous jam was was Asymmetrical Jam and you can play the entries here.

Not sure what to expect from a game jam? Want to have the best game jamming experience possible? Read through or listen to the articles section on our website. We provide mp3 audio file recordings which you can play on any device to listen at your convenience.

Want to make a game but struggle with art or music? Our assets archive of free, royalty-free art and audio will be available soon. This archive will be royalty-free and free to use for both commercial and non-commercial work. You can also look in places like OpenGameArt.

Everyone who joins the jam will receive a zip file with Creative Commons BY-SA assets to use if they so choose. This is a preview of upcoming assets for our archive.

Want to form a team? Check out the Crowdforge page or use the #team-up channel on our Discord linked above.

Support the 8 Bits to Infinity community and my (Joshua's) other projects through my Patreon. Perks include extended feedback on any game you make.

Schedule

Rules

Entries which break rules or have no clear relation to the Requirement will be removed.

1. 1-4 members per team, one entry per team.
2. Credit everything in your entry, including Creative Commons 0 assets and your own work. This must be accessible from the start of the game (in the title or a credits menu).
3. Answer all of the questions on submission completely and honestly.
4. Must work in Windows 10. Web builds are fine.
5. Cannot require unusual peripherals (have keyboard and mouse as a backup).
6. Make everything during the jam or use freely available assets (including open source code). Exception: You may use general-purpose assets (general-purpose code, logos, or fonts) made before the jam.
7. No NSFW content. This includes sexual content (including language), nudity, or excessive realistic gore/violence.
8. All participants must be at least 13 years of age to submit a game.

Requirement

Create a game emphasizing the idea of duality, the opposition of two related things.

Examples include opposing elements (fire/water, earth/wind, light/dark), spiritual concepts (Heaven/Hell, good/evil, yin/yang), and others like nature/technology, magic/science, separate/together, up/down, positive/negative, high/low, big/small, and so on. The possibilities are endless.

Utilize duality in your game's core mechanics, narrative, artwork, audio, or any other features, or across many of these.

Challenges

In addition to the theme, you may use these optional challenges, which have no effect on judge rating but can make the jam more fun.

Mention which challenges you accepted on your jam page so players know to look for them!

1. Use only two colors.
2. Use only palindromes for text during gameplay.
3. Generative music: there's no actual "music" track but the sound effects (reacting to gameplay) become musical.

FAQ

About the Requirement

Do I need to use duality in every part of my game?

You are free to use as little or as much "duality" as you like. As long as a player has a clear understanding that your game involves duality, you're good to go, whether it's only in the narrative, only in the gameplay, or infused into every element of the game.

Part of the Theme/Limitation score will be based on how obviously (and how well) you have implemented duality into the game.

Are X and Y opposing enough to count as duality?

If you interpret X and Y as representing duality, you're probably not alone. If you're very unsure, discuss your idea in the Discord or in the community page for this jam.

Other Questions

What tools/engines can/should I use?

You are welcome to use anything you like, although we recommend using familiar tools for a productive game jam experience. It's best to spend time during the jam creating rather than learning new software.

We also recommend using a proper game engine to save time - something like Unity, Godot, Construct, Game Maker, etc.

Not sure what to use? Check out this in-progress list of free tools for game development.

I'm awful at music/art. How could I ever make a game?

Our jams allow the use of premade assets as long as you credit them appropriately. We insist on crediting everything, even if it's under a Creative Commons Zero or Public Domain license. If you use external assets but don't credit them, your game will be disqualified.

You can find art stuff to use on websites like Open Game Art. The Community Manager for 8 Bits to Infinity also has free, royalty-free music available on his website.

We are working on a centralized resource to help locating free-to-use assets. Look for it soon!

I don't know how to program. Can I still make games?

Absolutely! Many systems require very little programming, such as Construct or Game Maker. The best way to learn is to get your feet wet, and a game jam is a wonderful no-risk way to try out new tech.

Should I build a Windows/Mac/Linux/web/[insert system here] version?

Yes! Build for as many systems as you can so more people can play your game. We recommend finding someone with the target system to test your build long before the jam ends so you can be sure it works.

I didn't finish my game. Should I still submit?

Yes! Game jams are about creating prototypes. A finished game takes years. You can still win the jam with a cool idea, even if the experience is super short.

How can I get more people to play my entry?

Play games from the jam and other games on itch.io, then leave quality feedback. Ask the dev politely to play your game, so they know you're looking for feedback. There's also a new feature on itch.io that shows your entry when you comment on the game's jam page so be sure to do so there.

Can I make a multiplayer game?

Yes, but it's not recommended because it's difficult for most judges (not to mention developers) to test.

Can I make a 2D/2.5D/3D game?

Yep! There are no graphical limitations to this jam.

Can I enter other jams with the same game?

Absolutely, as long as you follow all rules and time limitations for each jam. Note that we lock submissions, so you won't be able to upload new builds after you submit to this jam.

Where can I ask more questions?

Ask in the community for this jam (see link at the top of the page) or on Discord.

Judging

A panel of judges with differing views will rate the games using a shared interpretation of star values and voting categories. Judges may enter the jam, but will neither be rated nor be eligible for prizes. For this jam, we will judge on the following criteria:

• Fun/Design: Enjoyment of the game. Are the mechanics interesting? Do I want to play more?
• Technical Implementation: Polish and complexity. Does the game push technical boundaries or have special tech to stand out? Are there few, if any, bugs and typos?
• Music/Sound: Audio presentation. How well does the music/sound fit the game? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Graphics/Animation: Visual presentation. How clean/consistent does it look? Are animations fluid? Is there clear understanding of color, contrast, and other visual skills? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Theme/Limitation: Implementation of jam theme and limitation. Is the theme prevalent? How unusual is the interpretation? How strictly does the game follow the requirement? Out-of-the-box thinking on the theme (not taking it literally) will score more points.

Prizes

We will recognize three winners: Judges' Choice, Developers Choice, and Community Choice.

• Judges' Choice will be the highest-ranking overall game in the jam.
• Developers' Choice will be selected by a closed vote among everyone who entered the jam.
• Community Choice will be selected by an open vote by the 8 Bits to Infinity community and anyone else interested in playing the games.

All winners receive the following:

• A choice of two games from a list of several available Steam keys.
• (Optional) Showcase of a commercially released game you choose on Joshua's stream after the voting period. The game must be in his collection, available for free, or gifted.
• Priority feedback from Joshua on an updated version of your game with at least two weeks notice. The game will be streamed to completion (defined at Joshua's discretion).

Each entry may only qualify for one prize, regardless of how many categories they win.

In addition, winners will be added to the list of 8 Bits to Infinity Jam Winners.

Tweeter of the Month

Any tweet with the #8bitstoinfinity hashtag in March counts toward winning Tweeter of the Month, given to the person with the highest quantity of relevant tweets. The winner's Twitter handle will be displayed on Joshua's stream for the month of April, with a link to their Twitter placed among the chatbot's random messages.