1. R18 projects are allowed. However, please tag and label your game properly for any content not appropriate for minors, as well as any triggering and sensitive content. This applies to both SFW and NSFW submissions. If found out to be an unlabelled NSFW submission, the submission will be removed. 

2. Previously started on otome games are allowed to be worked on and submitted as entries as long a considerable portion of the final game is developed during the jam. Otome demos and unfinished projects are also allowed to be submitted as long as they’re in a playable state with reasonable playtime. Any finished games with no significant content updates that get released before the jam will be removed. We will check the upload date of the latest update.

3. You can make your entry pay what you want or commercial later on as long as you provide a demo. We discourage using volunteers working for free or rev-share on a commercial project – pay your team if the product will be a paid game.

4. You can submit up to three games per group/project leader/creator. You can still work with other teams as a teammate. The more, the merrier, after all!

5. Use of Free to use, Public Domain and Creative Commons Licence resources are allowed and encouraged if you can’t fill in a position in your team, such as artists or composers. You can always update the game later on with updated materials and a new team. AI generated content is not allowed.

6. You can submit and finish your entry in another jam as long the rules of the other one allow it. Make sure to tag your game with #Otome when submitting it. Similarly, you can submit games that fit these jam’s submission rules from other jams if they run alongside the time of this one or started before Otome Jam. Feel free to also submit your game to Josei Jam! 

6.1. Josei Jam is a game jam running alongside Otome Jam that is there to promote Joseimuke / shoujosei games and games for a female audience. Otome Jam entries automatically qualify as submissions for Josei Jam! If you would rather create BL games for women or Girl’s Love only, Josei Jam is for you! Read more about further down this page [What is Joseimuke?].

7. Feel free to use the logo in your game to brand it as a product for the Otome Jam (Right Click + Save As) and credit RANG as the logo artist. Additionally, you should credit your team in the game or on the game’s page. If you use resources, do check if they require credits or not to prevent license issues from happening. 

8. An email will be sent out a few days before the jam ends as a reminder to make sure your game adheres to the above rules and has all the submission requirements fulfilled.

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. 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 make an 18+ otome?

A: Yes.

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: Can I make something that isn't a dating sim or romance game?

A: No, as one of the core tenets of our definition of otome games is being able to romance characters. If you’d like to submit an otome-esque game without romance, please enter Josei Jam which is going on at the same time.

Q. Can I make an otome with only 1 love interest?

A: Yes, an otome with only 1 route is acceptable as long as it follows our other requirements- the love interest must be male and the player must be able to either play as a female character or choose to play as female.

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've spent two months making an entire game, you can spend 2 minutes taking and uploading screenshots.

Q. Where can I find teammates?

A: You can make a post in the community section here, join the Otome Development Discord or join the DevTalk Visual Novel Development Discord.

Q. Can I submit a boys love story? Girls love? Or a game where you can’t play as a woman?

A: No, as that doesn’t fit definition of an otome this jam is for making otome games. BL, GL, non-romance games and more are accepted in Josei Jam, though. If you do not want to make an otome, please consider joining a jam other than Otome Jam.

Q: Does the game have to be in English?

A: No, we welcome and support all indie developers of any language.

Every Otome is a Joseimuke. But not every Joseimuke Game is an Otome. Joseimuke is an umbrella term for media and 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. (LGBTQ+ Games with a queer female protagonist with other queer characters that exclude any male identifying ones) 

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 possible also not a Joseimuke. (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 and thus canonical never happened. Thus, 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
• Please Be Happy
• Disney Twisted Wonderland

If you think that you would rather create a game for an overall female audience, you might want to look into our Josei Jam or Shoujosei Jam in Winter instead!

Josei Jam is a jam that runs the same time as Otome Jam but is intended for the wider area of shoujosei games, games intended for women audiences. This includes otome games but also includes joseimuke media like BL, GL, and non-romance games.