Jamfuser 2021 

As part of the Tranzfuser Employment Pathway, Jamfuser  is the ultimate summer game jam running from 12 noon Friday 28th May - 12 noon Friday 9th July.  

Teams have 6-weeks to solely focus on making their game,  then whilst the public voting period is open they will be encourage to engage with the general public to get people to play and vote on their game.

Jamfuser 2021 is being run as part of the new Tranzfuser Employment Pathway. The game jam is for university students and graduates looking to improve their CVs and increase their chances of securing that dream job in the game dev industry. It will be hosted virtually.

The jam will be fun, so there are no physical or cash prizes up for grabs.  However, teams can anticipate the following outcomes from successfully submitting a game:

• Games submitted to the Jamfuser 2021 itch.io page enter the game jam review process (with the Public Vote and External Judges Vote) 
• Attendance at a virtual careers fair where teams can show off their portfolio and mix with companies looking for new talent to add to their team
• Virtual showcase of games on Jamfuser itch.io page
• Selected teams will be invited* to live stream their game during the annual Tranzfuser virtual showcase ProtoPlay
• Teams that submit their game to the Jamfuser 2021 itch.io page will receive an Employment Pathway digital credential.  The award can be posted on LinkedIn and other social media platforms so that individuals can digitally display their achievement after the event.

*invitation will be at the organisers' discretion.

Why take part?

Here at Tranzfuser HQ, we’re all about encouraging students and graduates with a passion for games development to turn that into a professional career. With that in mind, the purpose of  Jamfuser 2021, and what taking part should mean for you, is:

•       Individuals develop their professional skills in video game development
•       Experience and understand what it takes to work as part of a team
•       Teams finish with an online portfolio piece they can show to prospective employers
•       Teams develop a playable prototype in a short development cycle
•       Experience ‘shipping’ a game to a public platform 

So, if you love making games, if you want to develop your skill in a particular development area or perhaps you’ve never taken part in a game jam before and want to give it a try then this is the jam for you! 

The Employment Pathway isn’t intended to provide you with a job opportunity through the game jam participation. It’s about preparing how team members lever their project participation to perform well in future job interviews. Please don’t expect that employers amongst the judges will hire you as a result, but when you do secure interview opportunities after the competition you’ll be ideally placed to dazzle them with the experience from this project.

Taking part is about improving your portfolio, CV and range of skills and hopefully increasing your chances of securing a great job after the summer.

Who can participate?

• Team members should be undergraduate students / masters or post graduates or have  graduated between 2019-2021
• Team size:  A minimum of 3 team members working on the game.  We would recommend teams are no larger than 6, but maximum team size number is up to individual team discretion  
• Teams must nominate one person to act as the team leader. The team leader represents the team, is the main point of contact during the game jam and ultimately is responsible for any key decisions on behalf of the team
• All team members must have a residential address in the UK and be studying at a UK university (we will request teams to provide evidence of this on registration)
• All participating teams are required to complete the Employment Pathway Team Registration Form (see link below).  This will enable us to ensure that:
  • Your team is included in all communications from the organiser (this includes gaining access to our Employment Pathway 2021 Discord server)
  • Your team meets the criteria outlined above
  • Your team’s submission will be entered into the review process

The FINAL DATE for teams to submit their Teams Registration Form is 12 noon Monday 24^th May 2021.

Registration is now closed

Theme

Although Jamfuser 2021, as with most game jams, will have a central theme (to be announced at the start of the game jam) participants are not restricted to create a game that adheres to the theme. Participants will not be kicked out of the jam for disregarding it.  

The theme is provided to help stimulate idea generation, but we encourage all participants to be creative - the theme doesn’t have to be taken literally!

Please do not use the theme in any part of your team or game name. Including the theme in your team or game name can be confusing when it comes to judging (especially if everyone else in the jam is using it as well!).  Be creative and different from the rest when choosing your team / game name.

The theme will be announced at 12 noon Friday 28th May 2021.

Rules

• In the spirit of traditional game jams, the game should be a new project started from scratch for the purpose of The Employment Pathway.  Elements of previous work such as assets and scripts can be used, but an entire games project cannot be a starting point .
• Teams can use both bought and free asset packs along with assets that have been previously created by team members, as long as you have permission to use them.
• Teams can make their game on any operating system, but it must be playable on Windows or web browsers (HTML 5). 
• Teams should create a single player experience.  This will ensure our judges will be able to fully play your teams game and be able to score it.  We cannot guarantee your game will be reviewed or scored by the  External Judges if you create a multiplayer experience.
• Games must meet PEGI rating 16 or under, please see our Code of Conduct for further guidance on game content.
• Team members must be undergraduate / masters or post graduates .
• All teams and team members must have a residential address in the UK.
• Teams must submit a Team Registration Form (see above).
• Minimum Team size is three. We recommend a maximum of six, but that is at the teams' discretion.
• The team must work out their own working hours and schedule.
• As this is a virtual game jam teams and individuals team members are required to find their own venue / space to work from.
  
• Teams must create a TEAM itch.io (not an individual page) and submit their game to the The Employment Pathway itch.io page.
• Teams must create a 1-2 min video and include it on their team itch.io page.  

Code of Conduct

 As a community we encourage learning and skills development in a safe and welcoming environment.  With this mind we ask that those who are taking part treat each other with respect and have pleasant manner when talking and interacting.

We will not accept, nor will we tolerate:

• any form of online bullying / name calling / abuse / publicly slandering other’s games in a malicious way / harassing, stalking or unwanted following / unauthorised photography or recording
• use of bad or offensive language
• sexism, racism, discrimination or any kind of exclusion
• posting of content that is inappropriate containing images that are pornographic in nature, racist, promoting extremist propaganda, or content that does not meet the PEGI 16 rating guidelines
• games which have gambling content are not permitted
• spamming / raiding or other antisocial and intrusive behaviour on social media platforms

If you notice any behaviour that you feel contravenes this Code of Conduct, please contact the event organiser: help@ukgamestalent.com

 The Employment Pathway Support Team

Would you like to be involved with the running of The Employment Pathway?  We have a  number of roles that require people to be available to help answer / solve technical issues via our online Discord Server during the jam.  If you love game jams and want to help support others as they participate please contact help@ukgamestalent.com for more details. 

After The Employment Pathway

The Employment Pathway is all about helping young games devs create a game that they can use as part of their portfolio when they want to get hired. Along the way you'll explore the world of professional game development;  teamwork,  skills development, etc. Completing a game and being able to talk about it is a great asset in getting hired.

What you do next is really up to you!