Hello, friends! Thanks for joining the first ever Imaginary Game Mini Jam! 

The Imaginary Game Mini Jam is a once-a-month, weekend game jam with provided assets to help you make the games of your dreams. It's the lovable sidekick to the Imaginary Game Jam, an annual summer game jam with cash prizes!

The theme will be announced at the start of the jam. To gain access to the asset pack, and to make sure you're the first to know the theme when it's announced - make sure to join the Imaginary Game Studios Discord server!

Games will be played on stream the following week after submissions close. See you there!

The game with the highest overall score will be forever enshrined in the Imaginary Game Studios Discord server, in the Hall of Game!

We love seeing the ways our community interprets our characters in their game jam games. Who are these characters, you ask? Let's start with none other than Gobbo and Furny!  In the game Rogue Climber, you will be faced with many Gobbos and Furnys who attempt to block your ascent up procedurally generated towers of platforms - but that's just their day job. When they're not working to thwart you, Gobbo is a mischievous thief looking to steal his next favorite mushroom (which he only refers to as "truffies"). Furny is his silent, unwitting and unwilling sidekick with an unending appetite and appreciates the slower things in life. 

You can check out their game, Rogue Climber on Steam, and maybe consider showing your support by offering us a Wishlist! All this being said, you’re welcome to interpret these characters however you like! Your game doesn't have to be a roguelike or about climbing at all- anything is fair game!

And of course, let's not forget everyone's favorite health companion, Metic! In the game Meticulous, you are tasked with optimizing your diet and fitness - in real life! Metic is adventurous, thoughtful, and first and foremost, supportive! Together, you travel the universe, discovering new and better ways to improve your nutrition and exercise.

You can check out his game, Meticulous, on Steam (where you might also consider adding it to your Wishlist so you'll know the next time it goes on sale), or just watch a couple of videos over on the Imaginary Game Studios YouTube Channel to get the gist.

If you'd like to see how other game developers have used Metic, Gobbo, and Furny in their games, check out the submissions to the Imaginary Game Jam 2024 (Metic) and the Imaginary Game Jam 2025 (Gobbo & Furny)!

 Imaginary Game Jam Rules

Judging:

During the week after the Submission Period, Imaginary Game Studios will evaluate and score your submissions. Our judges will be stack ranking games according to each category, and determining overall scoring by the sum of each category. All categories will be weighted equally. We will be evaluating the following criteria:

• Theme: How well does the game honor the theme? Does the game interpret the theme in a fun and interesting way?
• Cameo: How well is a character from an Imaginary Game Studios game incorporated into your game?
• Imaginative: How unique is this game? Does this game surprise and inspire?
• Community Scoring: What does the community choose as their favorites? Community Scoring will be done by on the submission page of each entry on itch.io. Only participants who have submitted an entry will be eligible to provide a score. Please do your best to play and score as many games as you have time for!

With the exception of Community Scoring, the judges will make their selections in their subjective, good faith determination (or judgment). Winners will be announced one week after the end of the jam.

Requirements:

• The game must be developed during the submission period.
• The game must incorporate a cameo from an Imaginary Game Studios title: Metic, Gobbo, or Furny in some way.
• The game must feature this month's Imaginary Game Mini Jam logo on the main menu / credits / wherever best applicable for your game.
• The game must be approximately E or T rated (e.g., no explicit sex scenes, no extreme violence, no mature language, etc.).
• The game must be single player.
• The game must be playable on PC / in browser.
• The game must credit assets not created by you.

*You're welcome to submit any game project, but only those that follow the requirements are eligible to be entered into the Hall of Game on the Imaginary Game Studios Discord server.

FAQ:

• You may participate solo, or with a team.
• You may use any engine you choose.
• You may develop a text-based, 2D, or 3D game.
• You may create your own representations of Metic, Gobbo, or Furny, using any art style you choose - you are not required to use any provided assets. Please do your best to ensure the characters are recognizable without explicitly telling the player. Quality of art is not a judging category.
• You may use AI tools in your development process, but any AI tools must be properly credited, like you would any other asset.

Provided Assets:

• Up to 100 words of recorded dialogue in Gobbo or Metic's voice. Must be requested in the Imaginary Game Studios Discord server before the end of the first day, and will be fulfilled in the order the requests are made. No explicit language will be recorded.  
• Metic, Gobbo & Furny models / animations
• Assorted textured models (coins, platforms, doors, etc.)
• BGM
• Assorted SFX

*You are not required to use any provided assets. You are welcome and encouraged to create your own representation of Gobbo and Furny using any art style you choose. You can access the provided assets via the Imaginary Game Studios Discord server.

**You're free to use any provided assets for the purposes of developing a game for this particular game jam, but not for any other purpose. You own the rights to any unique IP you develop in the course of the game jam, but you are not being granted ownership over any IP belonging to Imaginary Game Studios.

We reserve the right to revise these Rules in our sole and absolute discretion.