⚠️DO NOT START WORK ON YOUR GAME UNTIL THE JAM BEGINS!⚠️
*Planning and Concept work are allowed, but please try and do all in-engine work during the submission period.

Every year, HawkZombie hosts a game jam so he has tons of awesome horror games to stream close to his birthday, Halloween! Affectionately referred to as Hawktober Horrors this will be its EIGHTH year running, and it's a lot of fun for those involved. Top rated games will get special Discord roles and one game will become the backdrop to Hawk's new channel trailer for the next year!

The best part? As stated above, Hawk will stream EVERY SINGLE ENTRY LIVE on his Twitch channel during the voting period!!

Much like last year, there won't be a specific theme aside from the requirement that all games MUST be horror games. For those looking for more structure or a challenge, see the next section. Some examples of the different genres one could utilize for this jam are (but not limited to):

• Slasher
  
• Creature Feature
• Biological/Body Horror
• Cosmic
  
• Eldritch
  
• B-Movie
  
• Supernatural
  
• Apocalypse (Zombie, War, etc)

These can also be combined in any way you can imagine as well!

Just remember: instead of being judged on theme, all submissions will be judged on their Story and Writing, Gameplay, Creativity, Soundtrack/Sound Design, and their Overall Horror for both Public and Judge's votes. The rankings will be determined by an average of all the scores. For more details, please check the FAQ in the Community tab.

While there isn't a set theme for the jam, there ARE optional challenges for those who wish for something a little more interesting. These are NOT required, and are just for fun or a personal challenge while participating in the game jam. Use as few or as many as you like:

• HawkZombie (The streamer or the hawk) is in your game as a character (does NOT have to be the main character. Cameos are fine!)
• All characters in your game are classic horror tropes (Jock, Final Girl, Nerd, etc)
• Infinity plays a major role in your game (The number or the concept)
• Holiday (Any) themed
• The entire game takes place in 1-3 rooms
• Your game has no spoken or written dialog (exceptions will be made for gameplay tutorials)
  
• Corruption. Characters (or the game world itself) must become increasingly corrupted as the game progresses
  
• Redemption
  
• Game's setting is at a convention (Anime, Gaming, etc), or a mall. Perhaps after hours? Your call!
• Told from the Killer/Villain's POV
  
• Censorship (Topical! But please no 18+ games)

• Your entry can be made with any engine/code base and with any assets you legally own the rights to use.
  
  • You may NOT use existing projects. All projects MUST be made during the submission period. Any found to have been made outside the submission period will be removed immediately.
• Your game may be entered into other game jams, as long as it still follows the submission guidelines for this jam and is a horror game.
• Absolutely NO RIPPED OR STOLEN ASSETS WILL BE ALLOWED. Use of such materials is grounds for immediate disqualification and removal from the jam.
  • This includes fan games unless you have express licensing rights to make said games.
• Games MUST be Windows Based.
  • HTML games are allowed, but ones with a separate download are preferred.
  • Unfortunately this year, PDFs will not be accepted as a valid entry.
• Works created with Generative AI in the final submission will not be allowed.
  
  • You may use AI if you wish during the development, but no AI assets will be allowed in the final game.
• Submissions must be free during the submission and voting period. After Hawktober Horrors officially ends, you may do what you wish with your game.
• Your game must be at least five minutes long, not including credits.
  • Any longer than 45-60 minutes may not be fully streamed/judged past that mark.
• Adult content up to and including a 'Mature' or 'R' rating is allowed as long as it follows Twitch guidelines.
  
  • This includes partial nudity, gore, violence, and language
• NSFW (18+) games are NOT allowed. After the jam, you're free to do what you wish with your game.
• Teams are allowed, and all team members will get the special Discord roles if their game wins.
• There is no limit to entries, but a person/team can only win ONCE (No sweeping Public and Judge's votes :P)
• Submissions remain the sole property and copyright of those who submit them. HawkZombie reserves the right to ONLY use submissions as promotional material for future Hawktober Horrors game jams.

As with last year, the top rated game in each section (People's/Public Vote and Judge's Vote) will receive a special Discord Role on HawkZombie's Discord server to wear as a badge of honor!

Also, same as last year, HawkZombie will arbitrarily pick his FAVORITE game from the jam to showcase as the Channel Trailer for both his YouTube and Twitch channels! Last year it was FEAR FABLES: UMBRA PROTOCOL by GlitchedLizard! This year it could be YOU!

All winners will be announced LIVE during a special stream Hawk will announce after the voting period ends (around 48 hours).

Finally, be sure to join HawkZombie's official Discord! While it's focused on the Streamer side of things, the server is VERY developer friendly, and we love to see new faces!