Finnish Game Week is hosting a game jam for a simple and short game to be played during the 15th annual Finnish Game Week in November!

This Game Jam is organized by the National Audiovisual Institute in Finland and Co-funded by the European Union as part of the Finnish Game Week. The Finnish Game Week is part of the International Games Month and during the week hundreds of local events are organized to celebrate games and gaming culture.

Theme

• A retro game inspired game 

The game doesn't have to be a retro game per se, but it has to be INSPIRED by a retro game or games. We also leave it completely up to you to decide what a retro game game is to you. Describe how your game is a retro game when you submit your game.

Information

The winning game will be played competitively in local events hosted by libraries, schools, youth centres, universities and other organizations. During previous Finnish Game Weeks we have played games such as: Slither.io, Books Tower, and Choose the Darn Right Colour. The game should be fast-paced and support competitive play.

Requirements for the Game

• New and original game
• Must run in most browsers
• Must include the Finnish Game Week logo within the game (it can be resized, restyled, or pixellated)
• Must have some kind of points earned or best time system for competitive play
• A single game should last no longer than 3 minutes
• Easy to Learn, Hard to Master
• No graphic violence and a theme suitable for all ages
• Bonus points for a Global Top 10 Leaderboard

Judging Criteria

The winner is chosen by a panel of judges. The judges will evaluate the submissions using the following criteria:

• How fun is the game to play?
• Does the game feel like a retro game?
• How easy is it to start playing the game?
• Would the game work as a local tournament game?
• How well does the game meet the above parameters?
• Overall quality, sound, artistic vision

NOTE: The judges rating differs from the Itch.io platform final result as we calculate all the start together.

Winners

1. Prize: 3000 euros - Seal Splash
2. Prize: 1000 euros - PUFFBALL!
3. Prize: 500 euros - Raige

In addition, we will raffle 500 euros worth of new board games between all the other submissions!

Other considerations

3rd Party Assets: You can use 3rd party assets (images, music etc.) that royalty free or you that have the copyright to and that copyright transfers to us for non-commercial purposes in case you win the jam. 

AI: You may use AI when developing the game, but must declare in the description of the game how AI was used during development.

Eligibility

You can participate from anywhere in the world. The First Prize winner will provide all game files for hosting the game and give full non-commercial rights to the game to the Finnish Game Week. The winner will also keep full rights to their game. If the winner is a private person (not a company or NGO), they will have to produce the proper tax documentation to receive the prize money.

Inquiries

Tommi Tossavainen, Planning Officer
National Audiovisual Institute
tommi.tossavainen@kavi.fi