UPDATE: winners will be announced on or before April 7 on co-hosts channels and Genies' X account. Winners will be contacted vie email by Genies Developer Relations team; please check the email you provided with the game jam project submission. 

Join us and make a game in 2 WEEKS! 📱🎮

Welcome to Genie's Game Jam! You will have 2 WEEKS to create your very own game based on the theme that will be revealed at the start of the game jam. During the jam, you will get to try our Experience SDK and help us improve it for others, while competing to win cash prizes and an opportunity to finish your project! This is your chance to come up with a fun game idea, enter to win cash prizes, and be invited to join the Genies Developer Community for future financial opportunities.

In order to participate in the jam, you must be given access to our tools to get a user account and be able to upload your projects. Sign up here: https://geniesmoments.typeform.com/to/eK8GMFPC

Make sure you join the Discord server where technical support will be provided throughout the jam: https://discord.gg/xjfJhSXx

About the Hosts

We are so excited to partner with TNTC, Sasquatch B Studios, and Jason Weimann, who are co-hosting this game jam. 

Genies is offering prizes to the top 10 games, with a potential exclusive bonus publishing offer for the top 3 projects!

🏆 1st Place:  $1,000 prize.  $5,500 completion bonus (Genies may offer the 1st place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If offered, you will be eligible to receive a $5,500 completion bonus ($2,750/month for up to two months)).

🥈 2nd Place: $500 prize. $2,000 completion bonus (Genies may offer the 2nd place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If offered, you will be eligible to receive a $2,000 completion bonus ($1,000/month for up to two months)).

🥉 3rd Place:  $250 prize. $750 completion bonus (Genies may offer the 3rd place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If offered, you will be eligible receive a $750 completion bonus for up to two weeks of polish time).

🎖 4th-10th Place: $50 Visa gift card

(1st-3rd place winners can opt out of the completion bonus and will still earn the base prize of $1,000, $500 and $250 respectfully for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place)

The Genies Experience SDK is built for Unity and uses TypeScript as the coding language, while providing a lot of additional tooling that we’ve created for you! The SDK is still in development so we expect that you’ll find bugs and that is OK! Our team will be available to help you along the way!

The only requirement for the game jam is to make a vertical oriented game using the Genies Experience SDK. You can use the Sample Projects we’ve provided to help you jump start your game! There are a handful of restrictions to keep in mind with our SDK in order for us to build it into our UGC pipeline. 

See the development restrictions here: https://docs.genies.com/docs/features-limitations

What if I don’t know TypeScript?

No worries AT ALL! We’ve done a lot to make TypeScript as easy to use as possible. Outside of syntax, you’ll find that it’s not that different from using C# in Unity! We also have you covered with documentation and tutorials that you can use to get comfortable writing TypeScript. 

Learn more about it here: https://docs.genies.com/docs/typescript

Step-by-step instructions

Note: All account creation has to be done manually by our team, so if you're having issues using the workshop, please email us at devrelations@genies.com

1. Download the Genies Sample Project - fork or clone it from our GitHub: https://github.com/geniesinc/ExperienceSDKSampleProject 
2. Create a game prototype using the Genies Experience SDK
3. Submit your game before the deadline
4. Compete for prizes & a potential publishing opportunity

Are teams allowed?

Teaming up is allowed and encouraged! Visit the #find-a-team channel on Discord to team up with fellow jammers. We recommend that you keep your team under 4 members; it can be hard to coordinate with more people in just two weeks. However, there is no team size restriction!

Submission Rules

Projects must be created with Unity (our SDK only works in Unity at the moment!)

Projects submitted into our content platform must be under 500 MB in file size. (When you build your project from Unity, you can see the final size of the .genies file!)

Projects must be playable in our Testing Launcher app or on the 7th Period app on Android or iOS. See https://docs.genies.com/docs/experiences/build for more info!

Projects must be designed and built for vertical orientation on mobile devices.

• Original Work Only: Previously created projects or games may not be submitted.
• Use of Pre-Existing Assets: You may use pre-existing code or assets that you have legal rights to, but must disclose them in your submission.This will affect your score in that particular category to keep the jam fair to those that may have created from scratch what you did not.
• Content Restrictions: All submissions must be safe for all audiences. No nudity, profanity, sexual content, or other inappropriate material.
• Submission Deadline: All game info must be uploaded to itch.io (no external links) by 8PM ET on March 24, 2025.

This is your chance to build something awesome, get recognized, and even secure funding to complete your game! Ready to jam? Sign up now and let’s make something incredible! 🎮🔥

All projects will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Theme - How does your game meet the theme of the game? No need to follow it strictly - creative interpretations are more than welcome!
2. Fun - Is your game enjoyable to play? Does it make us laugh or cry?
3. Innovation - Did you come up with interesting, new mechanics for players? Is there an interesting twist on the aesthetics?
4. Visuals - Polish is always important! How well does your art and style come together in your game?
5. Audio - Audio and sound always brings a game together! Help us immerse ourselves into what you've created!

For bonus points for those that are brave, try incorporating our Multiplayer framework! It's still currently in development, so only recommended for those who have made multiplayer games before!

1. Eligibility

• You must be at least 13 years old to participate.  By submitting your game and entering to win, you are agreeing that you are 13 or older.
• Residents of Italy and Brazil are not eligible to participate due to country-specific regulations.
• Participants may work alone or in teams.
• A Team Lead must be designated at submission, with a valid email address for prize-related contact and distribution.

2. Judging Criteria & Winner Selection

• Submissions will be rated in five categories: Theme, Fun, Innovation, Audio and Visuals
• Final scoring will be determined by game jam co-hosts TNTC, Sasquatch B and Jason Weimann and three expert judges from Genies: Carl Domingo, Elena Nizhnik and Mike Bedernik.
• Cash prize winners will be determined by the top three overall scores across all categories.

    This process ensures fairness and prevents cheating.

3. Intellectual Property (IP) Rights

• You retain ownership of your submission.
• By submitting, you grant Genies a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, display, and distribute your submission in any and all media.

4. Prizes & Distribution

• 1st Place:
  • $1,000 cash prize
  • Possibility of a development agreement: Genies may offer the 1st place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If offered, you will receive a $5,500 completion bonus ($2,750/month for two months), contingent on meeting development milestones and quality benchmarks that will be set forth in a standard development agreement.
• 2nd Place:
  • $500 cash prize
  • Possibility of a development agreement: Genies may offer the 2nd place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If offered, you will receive a $2,000 completion bonus ($1,000/month for two months), contingent on meeting development milestones and quality benchmarks that will be set forth in a standard development agreement.
• 3rd Place:
  • $250 cash prize
  • Possibility of a development agreement: Genies may offer the 3rd place winner an opportunity to complete their game.  If selected, you will receive a $750 completion bonus, contingent on completing a polished version of your game within two weeks, in accordance with a standard development agreement..
• 4th-10th Places: 
  • Winners will receive a $50 digital Visa gift card (Genies will contact winners with the digital code). 

5. Taxes & Winner Verification

• Winners must provide a valid tax identification number or Social Security number to receive their prize.
• Genies will issue IRS Forms 1099 or W-8BEN for tax reporting as required. Winners are responsible for any applicable taxes.

6. Disqualification & Compliance

• Genies reserves the right to disqualify any participant for:
  • Submitting plagiarized, inappropriate, or previously created work.
  • Violating any contest rules.
  • Engaging in fraudulent activities.
• If a winner fails to respond within 7 days of notification, their prize may be forfeited.

7. Liability & Disputes

• Genies is not responsible for lost, corrupted, or delayed entries.
• By participating, you agree to release Genies from any claims arising from participation in this contest.
• This contest is governed by the laws of California.
• Any disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration in California, waiving any right to a lawsuit.

Acknowledgment

• By submitting an entry, you confirm that you agree to these terms and conditions.