Q: Can I get started early?
A: Yes, but we don't allow previously finished games in the jam- you need to work on your game at least partially (not just a few days) during the jam.
Q: What engines can I use?
A: Any engine you'd like, but the final product must be a visual novel or heavily story-driven game. Some engines that are good for visual novels are listed in the Visual Novel Development Resources thread.
Q: Will there be ratings? Is this ranked?
A: No and no.
Q: Can I submit 18+ games?
A: Yes! Any games with 18+ or potentially triggering content should be labeled as such, though.
Q: Can I use generative AI assets (such as assets made with Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, etc.) in my game?
A: No.
Q: Can I submit a demo or WIP game?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I make something that isn't anime-style?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I have to make a game where you romance men?
A: Yes, that is the popular definition of otome games that we are using. If you want to make a game for female audiences where you don't have to romance men, enterJosei Jam!
Q: Why do I have to include screenshots of my game on the itch.io page?
A: We do this because it's the bare minimum for us to see if it's a real game or not and if it's a visual novel. Players are also wary of games that don't have any screenshots as they could be viruses. You spent 2 months making a game, you can spend 2 minutes taking and posting screenshots.
What is Josei Jam?
Josei Jam is a game jam focused on the broader range of otome-esque games, namely any game that's made with a female demographic in mind. It's a sister jam that runs parallel to Otome Jam for anyone who wants to make an otome-esque game but not necessarily one with a female lead and male LIs or even romance.
Josei Jam accepts a much wider variety of games such as boys love, girls love, and even non-romance games- the only condition is it has to be for a female audience. Any entry submitted to this jam needs to have the josei tag attached. (we encourage anyone to use this tag for their otome games as well!)
We created Josei Jam after receiving feedback from participants and other developers who want to make a female-gaze game for Otome Jam but don't want to go by the GxB rules. Taking inspiration from NaNoRenO's IntRenAiMo, a jam that runs parallel to NaNo for developers who want to work on a previously started project for NaNo, we created Josei Jam.
Aside from the GxB rules, the ruleset for Josei Jam is basically the same as Otome Jam- 18+ works are allowed, you can work on a previously started on project, your game can be free or commercial, no AI, etc. The host server for Josei Jam is the Otome Development Server.
What is joseimuke?
Every Otome is a Joseimuke. But not every Joseimuke Game is an Otome. Joseimuke is an umbrella for games directed towards a female audience and this includes non-romantic content. If the game has a female protagonist and male characters, but no actual romance or romance as part or direct influence of the storyline but directed towards a female audience, it’s a Joseimuke. (E.g. Obey Me, Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice, A3!)
If the game has romance and a female protagonist, but no male love interests, that’s not an otome game. If the game has romance and male love interests, but no female protagonist as an option, but still has a major female audience, that’s not an otome game and possibly also not a Joseimuke. (Games with only neutral/ masculine NB or Masculine Protagonists that pursue a variety of love interest of any identity. Bara is commonly gay games for gay men, for example, and would not count as a Joseimuke.)
Often other Joseimuke can be distinguished that the dates or romantic bits are locked behind cards or gacha and have no influence on the main story or the characters; thus, canonical never happened. Therefore, they lack the essence of an otome game where you obtain an actual ending versus the known “husbando” collector games that are about gathering more cards and events rather than a conclusion.
Joseimuke also includes:
- Sapphic/ WLW content (e.g. Heaven Will Be Mine, Please Be Happy)
- BL directed at mostly a female audience (e.g. DRAMAtical Murder, Hashihime of the Old Book Town)
- Stories about male protagonists for a largely female audience (commonly distinguished through the art style, e.g. ENIGMA: by Fruitbat Factory, My Dear Frankenstein)
Popular Joseimuke / Non-Otome Romance Games:
- Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder
- The Divine Speaker
- Heart of the Woods
- Disney Twisted Wonderland
- Obey Me!
What is amare?
Alternatively, a growing term for inclusivity in VNs that fits the Western culture more is the term Amare.
Amare is similar in nature to Joseimuke as an umbrella term for a specific audience but include any audience interested in story-rich romance for a variety of relationships (platonic ones as well), identities (aro/ace, gender identities, BIPOC etc.) and non-romance stories that don’t quite fit anywhere else. It’s a term created for more inclusion and diversity that don’t follow the standard definitions of Otome, Boys Love, Girls Love or Bishoujo/ Galge.