Welcome to the JagJam 2024!
That's right: A game jam dedicated to the infamous Atari Jaguar console!   

HOW TO JOIN

If you always wanted to do something on the Atari Jaguar, this is your chance to prove to the world that the infamous Jag can be very entertaining and is still alive in 2024! Anyone can join, no matter if you work alone or in a small team. You will just need to have an itch.io account. So let's show the Jaguar where you learned to fly!

PRIZES

The winner of JagJam 2024 will receive

– 200 EUR price money (PayPal required; if a team effort wins, the price money will only be paid to one account, so you'll have to split it up yourselves)
– A nice digital badge to put whereever so everyone will know that you have won the JagJam 2024
– The chance to get a publishing collaboration with Songbird Productions for the game that you have created

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Here you will find an overview for the submission details to participate in this JagJam. Let's create some enjoyable content for the Atari Jaguar!

– Every game genre is welcome!
– Your game is not yet released anywhere else
– One person or team can enter the jam with more than one game
– No 1:1 ports of existing games from other platforms (respect intellectual property)
– The cartridge image must run on a real Atari Jaguar with GameDrive (as cartridge file, JAG, J64, ROM, BIN, ABS)
– Include instructions on how to play (just include a .txt file)
– Your game must run on PAL and NTSC machines (50/60Hz)
– Your game must be finished by October 31st 2024 and submitted for rating
– Your game will have a free public release at least in form of a playable demo

If you are in doubt of anything mentioned above or have additional questions, please contact the host.

WHERE TO START

If you want to dive into coding for the Atari Jaguar, there are some options out there. First of all, you can use emulators like BigPEmu for testing if you lack original hardware. However, please ask the host about testing the cartridge image on real hardware to make sure it will run smoothly on the real thing. If you have a Jaguar yourself or trust someone to test your code on the machine for you, that's also fine. Just please keep in mind that the game needs to run on the real machine.

If you are looking for a development suite to use, you will find one in JagStudio which is comprised of several modules. You can find more information about that on their website. You can find additional information about coding for the Jaguar and ask questions over at AtariAge in the respective section "Atari Jaguar Programming". 

Other tools exist, like this Jaguar SDK or this U235 sound engine project. You can find more information about them on their respective websites.

You are free to use whichever tool you like to create your game.

RATINGS

Every game will be rated by select judges according to these criteria: 

– Originality: How original is your game's concept? 
– Graphics: Does it look good? Is the art style consistent?
– Sound & Music: How nice is the soundscape of your game?
– Playability: Is it fun to play?
– Replay Value: How motivating is it to come back to the game?
– Presentation: How well does everything fit together?
– Technical Finesse: How impressive is your title technically?

WHO'S JUDGING

Carl Forhan, founder and CEO of Sondbird Productions
Rees, Youtuber CTRL+ALT+REES
Boris Kretzinger, author of Clipped Claws - The Atari Jaguar Story