Thank you for participating in MelonJam 5, see you all in December for Winter MelonJam 2024!
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Welcome to MelonJam 5!
MelonJam 5 has now begun! The theme is FLOW. Here’s some definitions:
- move along or out steadily and continuously in a current or stream; a steady, continuous stream of something
- proceed or be produced smoothly, continuously, and effortlessly
More definitions can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow
- Warning: some of these are just names of things
Tips, to get your creative juices flowing:
- Use multiple/uncommon definitions if it makes sense for your game
- Check that the game can’t be easily reskinned to fit a different theme (that is, the game was clearly made with the theme in mind)
- There are no genre limitations. Perhaps considering things from a different genre's perspective could give you an idea.
- Questions to ask yourself and your teammates: will “flow” be helpful to the player or in opposition to their goals? What are some things that can flow (besides, like, water)? Could you make use of expressions that contain “flow” - go with/against the flow, etc.? What happens when the “flow” stops?
REMINDER: you must keep a document of all outside/pre-made assets used.
In this game jam, we are inviting both beginners who have little to no major game development experience and more advanced developers. The game jam will start July 19th 12:00 AM UTC, and end July 21st 11:59 PM UTC for a total of 72 hours. All participants will have to follow a theme which will be revealed at the start date.
Note: the jam is ranked so that we can determine a community prize, the top 3 in each category will be determined by our judges!
Why join MelonJam?
- Prizes including cash and licenses to useful softwares, courses, and more!
- Feedback for every game from professionals and college students in the fields of game development and design
- Welcoming community of game development enthusiasts on Discord (plus on demand cat pictures ^_^)
- Short time frame helps maintain focus and motivation
We recommend visiting our website for a recommended schedule and more information!
We will also be posting most of our updates on our Discord server, so join here: discord.gg/uYmNuZymJ2
We have three divisions, Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. Don't know which division you're in? Check out the flowchart below!
Thank you to all of our sponsors for generously providing prizes for MelonJam!
Gold Tier:
Silver Tier:
Bronze Tier:
Current Total: $40,709
Current Cash Total: $735
Prize total is calculated based on total cash value of products, gift cards, etc.
NOVICE DIVISION
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $80 cash/gift card | $70 cash/gift card | $55 cash/gift card |
| 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) |
| 1 PyxelEdit key (worth $9) | ||
| 1x 1-year subscription of Axure RP Team Edition (worth $504) | ||
| 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) |
| 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) |
| 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $106) |
| 1x Construct 3 Personal Edition for one year (worth $130) | ||
| 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) |
| 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | |
| One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) |
| 1 Cartoon Coffee VFX Megapack (worth $200) |
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $90 cash/gift card | $80 cash/gift card | $65 cash/gift card |
| 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) |
| 1 PyxelEdit key (worth $9) | 1 PyxelEdit key (worth $9) | |
| 1x 1-year subscription of Axure RP Team Edition (worth $504) | ||
| 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) |
| 3x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) |
| 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $106) |
| 1x Construct 3 Personal Edition for one year (worth $130) | ||
| 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) |
| 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | |
| One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) |
| 1 Cartoon Coffee VFX Megapack (worth $200) |
ADVANCED DIVISION
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $100 cash/gift card | $90 cash/gift card | $75 cash/gift card |
| 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) | 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20) |
| 1 PyxelEdit key (worth $9) | 1 PyxelEdit key (worth $9) | |
| 1x 1-year subscription of Axure RP Team Edition (worth $504) | ||
| 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) | 1x Aseprite key (worth $20) |
| 3x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) | 2x Wolfram One Professional Edition for one year (worth $1660 each) |
| 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $214) | 1x WeLoveIndies sound pack (worth $106) |
| 1x Construct 3 Personal Edition for one year (worth $130) | ||
| 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) | 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139) |
| 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | 1x Art of Problem Solving coupon (worth $25) | |
| One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) | One year of 1Password Families per team member (worth $60 each) |
| 1 Cartoon Coffee VFX Megapack (worth $200) |
PARTICIPANT PRIZES -- guaranteed* as long as you participate in the jam!
- $25 coupon for Synty Store (TIME-LIMITED, claim in our Discord server during the jam!)
- Access to Wolfram|One for thirty days (worth $25)
- Access to Interview Cake's coding interview prep course for 7 days (worth $50) (*50 licenses available)
- Cartoon Coffee VFX pack (link will be posted in our Discord server before the jam)
RAFFLE PRIZES -- anyone who participates in the jam & fills out the feedback form is eligible to win any of these!
- 1x Asset Forge key or Kenney Game Assets All-in-1 (worth $20)
- 1x Aseprite key (worth $20)
- $45 coupon for the Desmos Store
COMMUNITY'S FAVORITE PRIZE -- awarded to the game ranked the highest at the end of the judging period!
- $15 cash/gift card
- 1x license to any Wes Bos course (worth $139)
BEST VISUALS USING CARTOON COFFEE VFX -- awarded to the game with the best visuals that uses Cartoon Coffee VFX assets!
- $15 cash/gift card
- Cartoon Coffee Sword Slash VFX pack (worth $20)
- In order to be eligible for each division's prize, you must fulfill the requirements for those divisions (can be found in our website).
- To be eligible for a prize, you must provide an adequate explanation for how your game fits the theme when submitting your game.
- Any digital project that is not malware may be submitted. Keep in mind, however, that the judging criteria may limit your success if you do not submit a game that fits the theme announced at the beginning of the jam.
- All submissions must be developed during the allotted time slot. However, you are free to use any assets (music, 3d models, etc.) and tools (game engines, graphic design programs, etc.) that you made yourself or are given permission to use by the creators, such as through a creative commons license, an open-source license, or a purchase. If you choose to do so, you must mention this in your submission. Judges may take points off or award points based on pre-made assets.
- Participants may work alone, or form teams of up to 4 members in order to work on their submission. Participants can unofficially be in multiple teams, but cannot win prizes more than once per jam-- participants must choose one team to sign on with.
- The Cupertino Game Development Club reserves the right to not consider any uploaded games for prizes if the content does not follow the theme or is offensive or unsuitable. This includes but is not limited to: games with harmful or prejudicial themes related to gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, appearance, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, or religion.
- You may use any engines or tools at your disposal except for generative AI. No AI art, code, music, or any other assets is allowed.
- Participants who do not adhere to the rules above may have their submission canceled, or even banned from all future game jams hosted by the Cupertino Game Development Club.
Your game will be judged by professionals under the following criteria:
- Gameplay, or how well the game squeezes out value from its mechanics/how appropriate and appealing the controls feel (snappy platforming, impactful heavy attacks, or the like). This may differ depending on the genre of game.
- Graphics, or how impressive the project looks, sounds, etc.
- Innovation, or how “new” a concept in the game is (new graphics, new gameplay, new interpretations of old concepts, etc.)
- Theme, or how interesting the game's interpretation of the game jam's theme is.
- Polish, or overall polish/how complete the game feels.
Our judges this year are:
- Anooj Vadodkar, M.S. in CS (Games) at USC
- Ethan Soo, Co-founder and former president of CHS Game Dev Club & Co-founder at techToy Studio
- Gabriella Martinez, USC Graduate
- Haocheng (Hao) Liu, Game Designer, Interactive Media MFA at USC
- Jared Skold, independent game designer & project lead
- Manu Bhat, former Cupertino Game Development Club president and mobile game developer
- Mirek Stolee, Texts and Technology PhD Student at the University of Central Florida
- Nathan Huynh, Game Designer and recent Games & Playable Media M.S. graduate from UCSC
- Patrick Wang, Co-founder and former president of CHS Game Dev Club, MSCS student at CMU
- Saahil Gupta, Game Developer at University of Pennsylvania
- Vaishak Renjith, Aspiring Software Engineer, former GDC Treasurer and MelonJam Host
- Jihong "Yuuki" Min, M.S. Games & Playable Media, Design for Additive Manufacturing
- Xiwen Jin, Product manager at Blizzard, Diablo team
- Alex Zapalac, Game Developer
- Ji Xia, UCI Game Design & Interactive Media Graduate
- Dexter Delandro, M.S. in Game Science and Design @ Northeastern University
All games are judged by as many judges as possible to ensure fairness.
Hosts: Laurier Ke, Winfred Lin, Faye Yu, Lydia Lei, Rohan Naphade, Qinzhao Li, George Tsirigotis, Richard Zhang, Matthew Xu
For any inquires regarding sponsorship or judging, contact us at: melonjamgdc@gmail.com
