This is the first GoedWare Game Jam - Community Edition. This special edition focuses on learning, sharing and having fun together with a more relaxed format than our main regular GoedWare jams.

The goal of this Community Edition is to let you:

• Create and finish a small game within the jam period
• Practice coding, design and game making skills
• Experiment with new ideas in a low pressure environment
• Share your progress and insights with the community
• Enjoy playing and rating other participants games

GoedWare:

Links to previous GoedWare Game Jams #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 | ZERO UI | HALLOWEEN #2 | CUTSCENE #2 | LIMITED COLOR | LIMITED SHAPES

Rules & Requirements

• Open to All: Anyone, regardless of experience, is welcome to participate!
• Itch.io Account Required: An itch.io account is needed to join the jam and submit your entry.
• Engine Flexibility: You can use any engine or framework you like! For example: Unity, Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, etc. You’re also welcome to build your own engine if you prefer😉.
• Submission Deadline: You cannot edit your submission after the deadline, so submit your game a few hours early to address any last-minute issues.
• Team Participation: Teams are allowed, but we recommend keeping them to 4 members or fewer, as larger teams can be challenging to manage in 7 days.
• Multiple Entries: If you have the time and can manage it, you are welcome to submit multiple entries.
• Music and Fonts: Any music must be royalty-free or copyright-free and properly credited. Fonts from the internet can be used as long as you have the appropriate licenses.
• Assets: You may use assets you already own, such as those from the Unity Asset Store or Unreal Marketplace. Ensure that all assets are properly licensed and that you have permission to use them. Avoid infringing on copyrights or trademarks.
• No NSFW Content: Games must not contain nudity, hateful language, or offensive visuals.
• Fair Voting: Any attempts to manipulate voting will result in removal from the jam.
• AI Assistance: AI tools may assist with coding, but the majority of the code must be your own work. (check our FAQ in the community section for more details)

Submission & Judging Criteria

All entries are judged by the community. That means participants play and rate each others games.

The main rating categories are:

• Gameplay / Fun / Engagement: Is the game fun, accessible, engaging, and does it provide a smooth experience?
• Art Style / Visuals: How cool, beautiful, or eye-catching the game looks.
• Audio / Sound Design: How good the music and sound effects are, and if they make the game feel even better. Do they enhance the theme.
• Theme: Does the game fit into the theme.

After submissions close there will be a rating period where everyone can try games, leave comments and give ratings. Constructive feedback is very welcome and is a big part of the spirit of this Community Edition.

Note: Games still need least 10 ratings to appear in the the final leaderboard highlights. Playing, commenting and rating others' entries will also increase the chances of your game receiving ratings.

*We reserve the right to remove any entries with clear vote manipulation.
**Minimum rating requirements may be adjusted based on the number of participant

Recognition

The Community Edition focuses on participation, learning and visibility rather than large prizes. There is no general prize pool in this edition. Instead, we highlight great entries and celebrate the creativity of the community. The only gift card is linked to the Feedback Award described below.

Community Highlights

Based on the public ranking, we will highlight:

• #1 - Community favorite
• #2 - Runner up
• #3 - Third place

These entries will receive:

• A special shout out on the jam page
• A spotlight in our Discord community
• A custom Discord role or tag for the #1 Community favorite

Category Highlights

In addition to the overall ranking, we also highlight the winners of the main rating categories:

• Gameplay / Fun / Engagement
• Art Style / Visuals
• Audio / Sound Design
• Theme

Each category winner will receive:

• A shout out in the results recap
• A spotlight in our Discord community
• A custom Discord role or tag for this Community Edition

Additional special mentions may also be awarded for things like a clever mechanic, a standout devlog or a unique interpretation of the theme.

Feedback Award

To encourage thoughtful and constructive feedback, the Community Edition includes one special award dedicated to supporting a positive learning environment.

The Feedback Award is given to the participant who provides the most helpful, detailed and encouraging feedback on other entries during the rating period.

The winner of this award will receive a 40 dollar Amazon gift card as a thank you for supporting others and contributing to the spirit of the jam.

Important:
There is no separate jury ranking and no extended prize structure in this edition. Everything is built around the community spirit of creating, sharing and learning together.  
If you're looking for a more complete prize structure, feel free to check out our regular and special edition GoedWare Game Jams.

NOTE:

• The Feedback Award winner will receive an Amazon gift card for the Amazon website that applies to their country. No other gift cards or prizes will be distributed or swapped.
• For the record for Brazilians, Madagaskar and Indian. Unfortunately, no gift cards are possible for amazon.com.br & amazon.in and we will give out gift cards for amazon.com online shop.
• The prizes may change a little bit before the Game Jam starts, but will mostly contain the content as it is shown now. Once the Game Jam has started the prizes will not change anymore!

Bonus Prizes from Our Supporting Sponsors

The main goal of this Community Edition is to keep things relaxed and accessible. There are no guaranteed sponsored prizes in this format.

If supporting sponsors join for a future Community Edition, they may provide extra small rewards or visibility for selected entries, but participation should always be driven by curiosity and fun first.

Current Supporting Sponsors:

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Tips

In my experience, here is what you need to do if you want to win one of the top spots:

• Make your game easy to understand for new players. This is a super common trap a lot of game jam games fall into. Start thinking about your tutorial or how you want to teach your mechanics right from the beginning!
• Usually it's a good idea to make your game not too hard to win. People spend roughly five to fifteen minutes on each game. In most cases they won't have enough time to reach a super high level of mastery. Keep that in mind when balancing the difficulty.
• Quality over quantity. Keep your game super simple! This is important in this jam but every bit of extra polish can really make your game stand out in a short jam like this.
• Take risk. The winning games are usually those who were brave enough to try something completely new and crazy (while also following the other three tips above).
• Browser games get more plays. If you want more people to actually try your game (and vote on it), consider submitting a WebGL or HTML5 browser version. Many players prefer not to download files during a jam, so browser games tend to get significantly more attention and feedback.
• Resources. Check out the resources thread "Free gamedev resources (art, music , sfx, vfx, models etc.)" in our itch.io community for useful resources that can help you start and can be used for your game.

Obviously there are exceptions to all rules but still, I hope it helps. 😊

FAQ

Also check the latest updated FAQ in our community.

Question: What is the theme?
Answer: The theme will be announced when the jam begins.

Question: Does my game have to be a certain format?
Answer: No. Browser builds are recommended if you want more players and ratings, but downloadable builds are also allowed. Try to provide at least a Windows version if possible.

Question: What assets can I use?
Answer: The vast majority of code must be written during the jam, but you can use whatever art and audio assets you have the legal right to use.

Question: Can I submit a game that I already started on?
Answer: No, it is required that all participants make the entirety of the game in the time provided.

Question: Are there prizes in this Community Edition
Answer: There is no general prize pool in this edition. The only monetary style prize is a small Feedback Award gift card for the participant who gives the most helpful and constructive feedback. The main focus is on learning, feedback and community recognition. Top entries will receive shout outs and a special Discord role.

Question: Is there a Discord I can join?
Answer: Yes, click here to join.

LEGAL

• Anything you make during the GoedWare Game Jam Community Edition is your property. GoedWare does not claim ownership of your game.
• Any game submitted to the GoedWare Game Jam Community Edition may appear in GoedWare content such as YouTube videos, social media posts or on websites, as part of coverage of the jam.
• By participating, you confirm that your submission does not infringe on third party rights and that you have the rights to all assets used.