This jam is now over. It ran from 2020-09-29 00:07:32 to 2023-02-03 05:00:00. View 2 entries

Hello! Welcome to the entry page for the very first bonus issue of the Indiepocalypse Zine!

What is this thing anyway?

Simply, it's a monthly collection of games from 10 developers all wrapped up in one package. That the developers get paid for! Up front and on the back end! There will also be a short digital zine with a page for each game. Creators are free to design their page to their own liking or submit text and pictures to be laid out for them.

BUT! This is a special issue! This first bonus issue focuses on rejection. More specifically rejection from Major Indie Festival/Awards™ that more specifically charged you money for such an honor. Indiepocalypse was partially born out of the fact that there are plenty of these events that charge you in return for something i guess but few opportunities to make that money back. I suppose you could just put out games, but nobody's necessarily paying you for that. This issue to here to explicitly do that at least.

The games are then sold through itch in a single zipped file.

You will be paid:

UP FRONT: $75 USD
BACK END: 5% of sales (before anthology breaks even) | 8% (after)

Also, I claim no exclusivity or ownership of your games!

Game Requirements

THEME!: Being rejected by Major Indie Festival/Awards™

-Games MUST be a rejected entry to a Major Indie Festival/Awards™
-Demos are perfectly fine and kind of expected
-Games can be made during the length of the 'jam' or any time prior
-Games can be of any theme
-Games can be of any length
-Games can be digital or physical (that can be distributed digitally)
-Games can play very loosely with the term 'game'
-Any number of games can be submitted but each person can only occupy one slot.

That's pretty much it. Everyone keeps ownership of all their stuff, this is mostly a way to give a platform (and money) to smaller and/or more unknown projects.

How are games selected?

Games are selected by a single curator (me) based on no strict criteria at all. The main goal each month is to make an interesting and diverse zine. Below are some things that I think about when choosing games. This is by no means a list of objectives to meet and there is no objective math way of breaking down and judging a game and anyone who claims otherwise is lying.

-Subjective taste is ultimately unavoidable
-I prefer things that are messy and interesting to ones that are polished and familiar
-Length is irrelevant
-I am typically detached from (if not exhausted by) trends in design
-You gotta really try for something if you're making a overhead/twin-stick shooter
-Execution on intent (or something to the effect) is what I look to when I find a game feels more personally uninteresting than broadly uninteresting (however possible it is to determine such a thing)

Incomplete list of things I try to avoid judging unfairly but generally do not like and hey, I'm just a person so that's how things are
-Tiny (relative) hit boxes on melee attacks
-Built in physics, especially where meaningful control matters

What if my game is selected?

After submission entries are curated, if your game is selected, you'll be contacted and given a form to fill out to collect the materials for the magazine and anything else that may be needed. If you submitted multiple games, you will either: Be sent a message telling you which game was selected OR Receive no additional message and have your choice of bundling the games one entry/choose which game you'd like to be included.

The zine favors new contributors and will likely not repeat contributors for at least ~6 months.