"If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.”
-Your Grandpa, Stardew Valley
Maybe work isn't going so well, maybe your car is giving you trouble, or maybe the existential dread of modern society is simply becoming unbearable. Right now, you might be feeling that ennui keener than ever.
If you can't afford to drop it all, move out to the country, and start a commune, you can still get away from it all. Simulation games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and My Sims have let generations of gamers metaphorically step back from the rat race, take a breather, and reconfigure themselves. This jam is meant for those who want to emulate or expand on the experiences these games have given us.
This jam will be open to submissions from the start of May EST to the end of May, since April Showers bring May Flowers.
Official Jam Rules
- Submissions: The jam will be open to submissions at 12:01 AM on May 1st, EST, and will close to submissions at 11:59 PM on May 31st, EST. The jam is intended for roleplaying games, including LARPs, traditional tabletop games, microgames, and lyric games. Games that are playable asynchronously, solo, or digitally are highly encouraged.
- Themes: All games submitted should be themed after idyllic life simulator games, or be made to work in conjunction with an existing games in the genre.
- Safety: If you choose to include content in your game that may cause serious distress to its players, including common phobias, you should clearly delineate such content on its product page with a content warning. You should also include safety tools in your game, ideally as part of the mechanics.
- No Facists, No Bigots: No game submitted to this jam may contain material supporting facism or bigotry in any form.
- Copyright: It is your responsibility to ensure you are not using material in a manner that you do not have the rights to, including names, fonts, or artwork. If your game is designed to work with an existing game, take extra care.
- Pricing: The subject of pricing for roleplaying games is a contentious one, for many reason. There is no official requirement for pricing games submitted to this jam, but you are encouraged to charge a reasonable amount for your work. If you feel uncomfortable charging during these turmultuous times, consider setting your game up with free Community Copies available, as described by Dee Pennyway in this Twitter thread.
If you have any questions or concerns about this game jam, feel free to contact its host, Spencer, at their personal Twitter account (@TheDarkFiddler) or the professional account they manage with their wife (@AAdventures2).
The cover image is adapted from "green tree near red house during daytime photo" by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash. The photo can be found here.