Just wanted to double check...
Hello, apologies for the late reply - I wanted to get the opinion of all the judges for this, and we are online at very different times.
The answer is that mpreg, while falling into the preg category, will not be allowed. This is largely due to the fact that a majority of the community we built, and by extension the judges, are not into mpreg and as such we couldn't say that we rated games containing it fairly and equally to games without mpreg. While we do not want to limit creativity and do not bash people for having this preference, allowing it wouldn't feel right since we would knowingly set up people for disappointment caused by something out of their grasp.
I hope this answer, while probably disappointing, clarifies our reasoning at least. We still hope you have a fun time with the jam!
if this is the case, I will probably step away from the jam. I am not into mpreg myself, but this kind of raises some other questions. If mpreg isn’t allowed, are trans men who can get pregnant banned? Are non binary people who are able to reproduce banned? Are trans women, even if they’re theoretically not able to give birth by realistic standards, also not allowed? As a non binary person who is into pregnancy kink not only because of my gender, but also because I have a genetic cancer disorder that will prevent me from being able to have kids/get pregnant and uses pregnancy kink as a vessel to express grief, this just feels exclusionary. I hope your jam goes well and your space seems pretty neat, but I won’t be participating in it. Hope yall have a nice Mayternity.
I sincerely apologize if this decision has caused you any emotional discomfort or has instilled in you the belief that we wish to in any way be exclusionary to non-binary or trans people, as this is not the case. We take matters of respect and representation seriously within the community.
On the upside: As this is simply a matter of judge preference (and only some judges do not trust themselves to stay neutral), there is always the chance that next year's jury will have a different view on the matter. We are still very much in the experimental phase of hosting these jams where we try to see which compositions of jury, rules and themes will work best together.
Once again, I apologize for any troubles caused and hope to see you again next year.
I bring good news (and hopefully will not get stoned by the people here for being the messenger this time):
After further discussion with the jury as well as input from members of the community, we have decided to repeal the ban on mpreg content, meaning that you will be able to upload games containing it without having to worry about being disqualified. We do however make clear that, while we will act as objectively as humanly possible in our role as judges, the fact that most of us do not have a preference for mpreg may appear in our feedback to games containing it. If the first year of the jam is anything to go by however, then this impact should be comparably minimal.
The rules displayed on the jam's main page will be amended once Preggo is awake and back at his PC, as he is the only person capable of editing that particular page.
Thank you for bearing with us during the decision making and only beating me up very gently when I was the bearer of bad news. We would also like to apologize for the rocky back and forth on this particular topic - trust me, we are as glad that this is settled as you are.
I was preparing to submit an entry for this jam and I was really looking forward to participating for the first time, but following this announcement I have decided to withdraw.
I really respect the Jam hosts' willingness to listen to the community and for taking steps to try to be inclusive. I genuinely wish every entrant well for this competition regardless of what you're submitting. I just want to speak up because there are two sides to this and neither are wrong or bad.
Personally, I think it's OK to have a jam where only female pregnancy is allowed. It's May-ternity, after all. Every jam needs rules, every jam requires submission criteria, and criteria are exclusive, naturally. Because otherwise people could submit whatever they want and then it just dilutes the entire purpose of having a theme.
One more thing, and this is to the jury: It's OK to like something and not like something else. We all have preferences. We all have yes/no kink lists. If you don't like meatloaf, then don't allow people to force you to eat meatloaf. You may politely decline and offer the meatloaf to someone else.
Who is forcing you to eat the meatloaf? Mpreg games existing doesn’t affect you in any way. Previous maternity jams have had more without it bloating the entries. The majority of games will be fpreg like always and banning mpreg only serves to reduce the number of games overall rather than increase the number of fpreg games. The purpose of these jams is to “celebrate pregnancy in all its forms”. Jams are about letting creative people make things they are passionate about. Preferences are allowed and reasonable. You are within your right to not enjoy mpreg games and are allowed to ignore them to your hearts content. Their existence does nothing to you. I also do not enjoy mpreg, but I support creators making things they are passionate about.
I fail to see how having more games would be an issue. If you anticipate people being denied their passion as them compromising to a game you would enjoy more, you are sorely mistake. If the thing you were considering was banned, would you drop out or try and make a game anyway without that aspect? Considering your decision to participate hinged on something that doesn’t even affect your own game, I think you know the answer. Have your preference, that’s within your right. No one is making you play anyone else’s games. More games make jams better. I have participated in jams with over 1000 entries and more broad requirements than a preg jam with a theme. And that is not bloat. Every game makes a jam more fun.
I guess I’m just confused on your overall stance. How is more games a bad thing? Because in my mind more games is more games. It just gives me more options to find the ones I personally like. Previous preg jams also had mpreg allowed and they were a small portion of the overall entries. Do you think more fpreg games would’ve been made if mpreg was banned? Because that’s not correct and misunderstands the passion required to participate. Does the existence of mpreg games somehow affect you in some way not mentioned? Because, to me, my own passions and ideas exist regardless of what other people make or enjoy. What exactly is making you reconsider joining? This seems to not affect your ideas for a game in either way.
I think... games with Mpreg themes should have a warning in the title like "(Mpreg)" to let people know, so those who don't like that genre won't accidentally click on it. I'm just saying this because I'm someone who doesn't like Mpreg either, but I'm not hating on it or anything—I just want there to be a clear indication, like This is an Mpreg game or This is an Fpreg game. But yeah, that's just the opinion of an ordinary person.
Proper tagging will be required for all jam submissions - that alone should help a good bit.
We will also ask for people to give their games that little... I forgot the name, but the brief description that Itch displays below the thumbnail, so we could also ask people to write that it's mpreg in there?