What is an MVG?

An MVG is a Music-Video-Game... a combination of Music Video, and Videogame! Historical examples include things like the Gorillaz Jeep game, and the more recent videogame made to promote the artist Look Mum No Computer.

In MVG Jam, you pick a song from those submitted, and then you have a month to make something cool, either on your own or with a team. The videogame you make should incorporate the song in a creative way, which also supports the song in terms of its lyrical meaning or emotional mood. 

So I Get to Pick the Song?

You'll get to pick a song from the available library [available from August 1st, 2025]. Before you start making the game, you'll also be encouraged to do a little bit of research into the artist you've chosen, to see how they normally visually represent themselves and their work. Imagine the kind of creative direction a music videographer would usually do, but applied to a videogame.

Are Pre-Made Assets Allowed in the Game?

As long as the assets are owned by you, or have a creative commons license, then you can use any pre-made assets. Just remember to focus on making your game stylistically coherent, and something which visually supports the style and tone of the music. You can even start from a project template if it helps you to fulfil the goals of the jam i.e. to make something creative aligned with the song you're jammin' with. This jam is about making something within a particular creative brief; it's good to challenge yourself to learn new technical skills, too, but that's not the focus here. 

Is Generative AI Allowed?

Entries with obvious use of generative AI for visual assets will be disqualified. 

AI use for code is not relevant to the jam as it is not player-facing (you can "vibe code").

Has Every Musician Who Submitted Music Been Included?

Some songs have been excluded because they were too close to standard videogame music. Including these would have been against the spirit and aims of the jam.

What Do You Mean by "Spirit and Aims" of the Jam?

As a game design educator, I try to ensure that all of the game jams I run focus on helping developers to practice a skill they might not otherwise practice on their own. For example, earlier in 2025 I set up Collab Jam, which will be a yearly event to get developers working with new people. 

The remit of MVG Jam is to do two things;

1. give game developers a chance to collaborate (indirectly) with creatives from a different medium, with a small chance that their game might then be seen by an wider audience outside of hardcore gamejammers.

2. give game developers existing material to base their game's feel, mood and meaning on, rather than expecting them to do worldbuilding or creative direction completely from scratch.

In making a game using someone else's I.P. you'll need to do a bit of research around the artist or their genre, and think of how to visually and mechanically represent the ethos of the artist in your own game. This will give you an opportunity to focus on developing your creative direction skills. Your goal isn't to make whatever you want; it's to try and make something which suits the song. The best games in this jam will be ones where the developers have really thought about the song. They'll have based their game's mechanics and visual style on the song's meaning and mood, probably based on some research into the artist (looking at their existing promotional materials, release art, social media or music videos).

OK, I'm Ready - How Do I Get the Songs?
The songs will be announced at the turn of midnight on August 1st via a video on the Indie Game Clinic YouTube channel. The video will contain a Google Drive link in the description, with links to all of the songs, and other relevant information.