Dogpit Jam 2019: Input Optional Jam

May 17th through May 26th

Ever wanted to show off One Cool Thing? Miss interactive screensavers from the 90s? Want to use your skills to make something that looks neat but don't want to go full demoscene? This is the jam for you! 

This is the perfect jam for showing off a shader, an audio visualizer, sweet procgen, a crazy simulation, slick animation, etc without having to worry about the stuff you don't actually care about!

The jam begins on May 17th at midnight and ends 11:59 PM on May 26th. All times in CST (GMT - 6)

Jam theme is "HITS THE SPOT"!

Joining a team Participants are strongly encouraged to team up with other entrants! Find people who complement your strengths! Looking for teammates? Come say hi in the Dogpit Discord! We also encourage you to say hi in the discord regardless and meet other chill gamedevs, artists, game audio people, voice actors, and other neat folks!

Contact @TeamDogpit or info@teamdogpit.com. Tweet your game WIPs with the hastag #dogpitjam so we can find and retweet them!

Categories and Judging

• Best of Jam
• Best Art
• Best Audio
• Best Dev (ie, best mechanic/behavior that isn't specifically art or audio related)
• Community Choice

Judges are Xibanya and Pixelsandpins.  Judges will play all submissions  and then come to a consensus on the winners. Judging brackets to be announced after close of submissions. Prizes TBA!

All entries will be played live on stream with commentary by judges. Livestream will be June 1, 2019 at 7PMCT at https://www.twitch.tv/manuelaxibanya

Rules of the jam

•  Make a game that follows the theme and submit it by the deadline!
• input is optional 
•  maximum one input allowed (see details below)
• No win or lose state. User should be able to step back at any time without ending up in a dead end or caul-de-sac. That means no title menus, full window screens that require user input to dismiss, etc. 
•  Entries that include hate speech or harassment will be removed from the jam
• The game you submit to the jam must be free for a minimum of four weeks after submissions are closed.
• submissions must be playable on Windows 10 or in browser (you can submit Mac, Linux builds but your game will not qualify for judging unless there is a Windows build.) It is highly suggested that your game NOT launch in fullscreen by default.

ABOUT YOUR ONE PERMITTED INPUT
Input must remain optional to your game's core experience. The core experience must continue even if the user steps back at any time.

Your one input can be mapped to multiple buttons, ie, gamepad A and Start and keyboard Enter and Space can all be used for this input in the same game.

Consider your one permitted input to be a single button press or tap on a touchscreen. Click and drag is ok, pinch is not. UI buttons are OK and an unlimited number are permitted, but if you feel the need to add several buttons you should take extra care to be sure that input remains optional to the core loop.

Q: Are sliders acceptable?
A: Yes

Q: Can I have first person movement in a 3d environment?
A: You need more than one input to handle strafe + headlook, so no.

Q: Can the game have an end state (ie, reaching the end of a maze?)
A: Yes, if it continues its core loop automatically. (Starts over, generates a new level, etc.)

Q: Can the game have a win/lose state if it's two computer controlled players against each other?
A: Yes if it starts over automatically and the player isn't specifically assigned to one particular side.

Q: Can I make [genre] game?
A: Yes as long as the player doesn't lose or experience negative consequences from not interacting with it. If the player doing nothing causes them to be defeated/have penalties, etc, then that's no more input optional than a regular game. 

Q: Does a quit button count toward your one input? Can it be a separate button? (ie, escape to get out of a fullscreened game?)
A: A separate button for quit will not count against your one input limit if it is not used for anything else within the game, ie, navigating menus. it must be treated as an off switch on a handheld, back in a browser, x in a window, etc.

Ideas/Examples

Here are some examples of what would make good entries!

https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/clockTickTockNoiseGenerator.php this is a noise generator with click and drag sliders that control the volume of various elements in the audio.

https://pizzamakesgames.itch.io/the-view-down-cold-firgun this is an animation of snowfall, it takes one input, which changes the randomization of the snowfall pattern

https://0101ivier.itch.io/knacki-vs-nazis you play as a hot dog that halts a column of panzers. You can crush the panzers if you want, but you will halt them regardless.

Nearly anything on https://www.shadertoy.com/

FAQ

Q: I've never made a game before, can I enter?  A: Yes

Q: I'm not very good at making games, should I enter? A: Yes

Q: Can I use Gamemaker, Unity, Unreal, my own boilerplate, and/or my own engine?  A: Yes

Q: Can I reuse my own code from prior projects? A: Yes, though if you do so it would be sporting to open source that code and link it in the community Discord server so that anyone could use it if they wanted to.

Q: Can I take a game I have already made and modify it to fit the theme?  A: No

Q: What time zone determines the start and end dates?  A: Central Standard Time (CST, GMT - 6) 

Q: Can I join the jam after it has already started?  A: Yes, you can join at any time. You just have to submit a game before the deadline. 

Q: Can I work with a team?  A: Yes

Q: Can I be a member of more than one team?  A: Yes

Q: Is there a limit to the number of people that can be on the same team?  A: No

Q: Can I use open source assets, unity store assets, or other assets that are available to the general public?  A: Yes

Q: What happens if I don't submit my game in time?  A: Your game won't be judged and won't be played on the livestream. I still encourage you to keep working on the game on your own time though.

Q: Can I update my game after the end of the jam?  A: Yes but judging will be based on the copy that was submitted by the deadline.