The theme is "Twisted Nature"!

The theme will be announced on our twitter, this page, and our YouTube after the game jam goes live!  If you don't see it, refresh the page!

What?

This is the fourth annual online Game Jam hosted by South Dakota State University's Game Creation Organization. The theme will be revealed when the Game Jam starts! (See below under THEME at the bottom for more details.)

Who?

Anyone can enter!  If you want to find a team, Crowd Forge has a great platform where you can create an awesome entry on their site to connect with other developers!  Teams of any size are welcome, and of course solo developers are welcome too!  

When?

May 31st- June 2nd from 7PM to 7PM. You will have a little extra time on Sunday for submission purposes, so you will have the full 48 hours to work on the game.

Where?

Wherever you are! This is completely online, so find a cool location to work and make something awesome! We definitely recommend a brighter area for inspiration for this year's theme, but your bedroom or basement works too!

Why?

Why not? Last year the theme was Reflection and we had some great submissions, from games about puzzles and mirror worlds, to games where the world around us reflects emotions.

Genre?

Quite a few genres will fit the theme. This year's theme really lends itself to creativity, patterns, or puzzles. Creative programmers and game designers can try out some really unique game ideas, and artists will have a good amount of creative freedom to to work within this years themes, but you really can't go wrong. If you are unsure, feel free to email us.

Platform?

We have a couple of tech savvy people who can get games to run on all sorts of devices. Build for almost whatever platform you like: PC, mobile, web, ect. If we don't have the hardware to run your game on its intended platform, we'll try to emulate it. Board games are accepted as well, though we may not be able to get around to rating them. 

Teams?

If you are the kind of person who prefers to be the one man band, GO FOR IT! If you have a giant company that wants to participate as one giant team, GO FOR IT! Do what you can/want to do! We have no restrictions.

If our memory serves us right, one year's winning team was assembled completely by contact with us through emails and Twitter!

Alternatively, feel free to form teams here: https://crowdforge.io/jams/gco-game-jam-2019?=

What if I am not very experienced?

That's the point! You learn and grow a lot from these competitions! Of course if you are experienced, you probably have other motivations which are fine too.

What if I don't finish my game?

Submit what works if you can. Otherwise email us screenshots and/or videos.

Fan games?

Fan games can be great practice if you are low on creativity or resources, but can be problematic if widely distributed. If you are concerned about your game being available to the public, email a cloud link to us and we won't distribute it. We won't make a video or stream on it either unless you provide permission in the email. But we will provide feedback and tell you where you stand in our ratings.

Other things to watch out for?

GCO will also be producing one game internally this year at game jam.  A team of undergrads at GCO where YOU the other participants will vote on a winner between our games.  Even if you don't complete your game make sure to at least submit something so you can vote on the best games!

Will my games be reviewed by other participants or by the GCO hosts?

BOTH! We allow everyone to vote on all the games by criteria for 2 weeks after the conclusion of the game jam.  In addition we will live stream GCO's members analyzing and voting on the submissions shortly after the conclusion of the even(usually within 1-2 hours depending on how long it takes us to switch our equipment over from game production configurations to our live streaming configuration)

THEME

The theme is top secret! We won't reveal it publicly until the Game Jam starts on May 31st at 7 P.M. Central Time.

We will announce the theme on Twitter @SDSU_GCO, our youtube channel, "GCO - Game Creation Organization", and on this page!

If you would like an email announcing the theme when the Game Jam starts instead, email us!

Judging will be based on the following criteria (note: subject to change):

• Theme - Does the game match the theme?
• Creativity - Does the game introduce a creative mechanic, story, or art style?
• Technical Achievement - Is the game technically impressive? Does it make one wonder how it was made?
• Polish - Does the game go the extra mile to feel clean? Does it have those extra details that make it shine?
• Entertainment - Was the game entertaining to play?
• Bonus Points - For the little things that matter! :D

Email

For all questions, concerns, theme requests, and private submissions, you can email us at: gco.sdsu@gmail.com

You can also follow us on Twitter @SDSU_GCO, or check us out on YouTube or Twitch