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Jam Details & FAQs Sticky

A topic by Second Dimension Games created Dec 10, 2017 Views: 1,260 Replies: 17
Viewing posts 1 to 9
HostSubmitted (4 edits) (+1)

Hello all, this is #FFSjam 2018 and everyone is welcome! The rules are explained on the main jam page, but here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. If your question isn't covered then please ask below.

Why did you decide to host this jam? We ran the first FFSjam in January 2017, and everything went pretty well!  The original reason we started it, is because we find game jams are one of the only things that gets us motivated to actually finish something.  We had a few protoypes and half-started games that had been hanging around for years, and we knew we wanted to submit them to a game jam, but we don't like breaking the rules.  Most jams require you to come up with something new based on a theme, so submitting our existing ideas never seemed right. After a few years of looking round for a jam like this, in the end we gave up and decided to just start it oursevles

When is the deadline for the jam? Last year we stopped exactly at the end of January, but this time around we have added a few extra days.  The only reason we did this was to ensure the jam finsihed at a weekend, to give everybody one final Saturday to get things finished off.  So the dedline this time around is 00:00 GMT on the 4th February.

Is it OK if my game is mostly finished? Yes that's absolutely fine, one of the purposes of this jam is to help get you over the line on a long running project

Does that mean I can't start a new game for the jam? Not at all, the other purpose of this jam is to help you finish a game if you've never managed it. It's no problem if you want to start a new project or redo an old one from scratch

Can I just finish an Alpha or prototype? Yes, the final product can be whatever you want it to be. If you find it helpful to use the jam to create a prototype then that still counts as finishing something!  Alphas, prototypes and demos are all welcome.  You can also take a previous Alpha and work on it again to move it to Beta stage.

Can I charge for my game?  Yes you can, you can utilise any of itch.io's existing functionality so paid game can be submitted.  It would be great if you would consider submitted a demo or small slice of the project for free so everyone can try it, or perhaps a discount for other FFS jammers, but that is not a requirement.

Does my project have to be a game? No, you can submit anything you want, such as a tool, screensaver or interactive art piece.

Is there a Discord channel? Yes there is!  Permanent invite link is here: HERE

What's the best way to find a team? You can use the Crowdforge page we set up HERE, you can ask here on the community THREAD, or you can chat to some people in the Discord channel (invite HERE).  The choice is yours, but if you're serious about collaborating then the Crowdforge page might be best, as the site was set up to help connect teams.

Can I continue working on my game after the deadline? Yes absolutely, feel free to use this jam as a starting point for something even better.  Jsut post a demo or a alpha to the jam and then carry on improving it.

Can I used royalty free or creative commons assets? Yes you can, as long as you have the right to use something then that's fine. Just be sure to credit the original creator if they have requested it. There are a lot of Google results for free assets, but some good places to start might be FreeSound.org and OpenGameArt.org

Do I own all rights to my game or project? Yes completely. Neither itch.io nor any game jam host has any rights to your project, you are 100% the owner and always will be. This is confirmed in itch.io's Creator FAQ Here.

Will there be a ratings phase? Yes. Although the idea of one particular game 'winning' the jam doesn't really make sense, we thought it would be good if you could get feedback on your projects. This is good for both very long running projects and new game devs who complete their first game. There will be ratings for Fun, Visuals, Audio, Mood and Innovation.

The jam seems very relaxed, are there any rules? This is a mostly an 'anything goes' jam. One thing that is not really in the spirit of the jam is to submit a 100% completed game that didn't need any extra work, but even then you may have finished the game very recently, so we're taking a very relaxed attitude to things.

Are there any plans to repeat this jam in the future? Yes!  We had this question last year, and said if it was a modest success we would repeat it, and here we are!  We will do it next January if it there are people out there who find it useful.

How do I share my progress? There is a sticky thread HERE where you can share your screenshots and progress.  You can join the chat on Discord and put updates in the progress channel (invite HERE).  Or you can also use the hashtag #FFSjam to share updates on Twitter.  Feel free to follow the @FFSjam Twitter account, which will be retweeting updates throughout the jam.

Do you have Tiny URLs?  Why yes, we do have Tiny URLs! Look how tiny they are: 
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2018main
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2018faq
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2018collab
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2018share

Submitted

I want to make a tool and charge money for it. Would that be allowed?

HostSubmitted(+1)

Hi, yes that is fine.  You can make something free or something paid.   You could enter a limited demo in the jam, or the fully paid tool.

Submitted

Would it be ok to post an update to an old game you only posted the early version of? and what if you've been working on multiple games, can you submit more than one project?

HostSubmitted

Yes an updated version of an alpha, beta or demo is fine. Multiple projects are fine too if you have the time!

Submitted

Can I submit more than one game?

HostSubmitted

Yes you can!  Assuming itch.io let's you do that (which I think it does)

Did this jam originally used to run until February 19th? I was hoping to submit something on February 8th, so I'm a little sad the deadline seems to have been moved back.

HostSubmitted

Hi, no last year was the first jam and it ended on 1st February, so I've actually extended it a little.  If you can't do it before the deadline though then just let me know, I can do a late submission link for you.

Can I submit a game, that i finish, but there may will be content updates (but the main game would be finished)

HostSubmitted(+1)

Hi, that's no problem.  It's your game so you can do what you want with it!  Ideally you would submit it and not make major changes during the rating period., but thats only 2 weeks anyway.  

(2 edits)

Great jam idea.

There's a game I was working for a long time, each time I return to it, it's like a bag of spagetti — I started writing it with no consistent name structure... or any structure. I want to give it a pull and release at least the 1st episode (around 10 puzzle rooms) — the most frustrating part is to make mundane things: menus, interface, options, score system, sounds, predict the ways a player can break the game... well, all those things that distinguish a completed game from a prototype.

HostSubmitted

I think we all have projects like that, where you have to figure out what the past you was thinking!  Anyway good luck with it.

Hi,im new here just wanted to ask ,if am working on game since last 6 months and its just about to be complete(only UI remaining ) Can i join this jam???

HostSubmitted

Sorry for the late response.  Yes you definitely can!

Submitted

Thanks for the jam..it was the final push (or rather kick in a**) I needed to finish my game.

Question: what is the deadline for the rating phase?

HostSubmitted(+1)

There's a countdown timer on the main jam page, but the deadline is midnight on Sunday

Submitted

Ooops! Thank you! =)