Welcome to the 2019 UCoE Game Jam!

In the tradition of competitive charity at the Uniontown Center of Excellence, we are hosting a game jam to raise money for this year's Extra Life fund. Individuals or teams sign up for the jam to create a video game of their very own making. Jammers can only be credited on one project, but feel free to cooperate or compete as much or as little as you like.

Form a team. Pitch optional challenges. Make a game. Earn votes during judging. The team with the most votes gets a portion of the donation pool. The rest goes to Extra Life.

This jam is being organized by Adam Marsh. If you have questions about the jam, swing by my desk, message me on Teams, or email me.

The theme for this jam is: SPACE

The theme is completely open to your interpretation. You can (but aren't obligated to) make a sci-fi game set in outer space. It could also be about personal space, the space between people and places, the concept of dimensions and distance itself, or the spacebar on your keyboard. Or whatever else you can think up! Think outside the box!

FORM A TEAM

On September 1st, the theme for the game jam will be announced. Starting at that time, you can start forming teams and registering with the jam organizers. No formal process, just let us know who's working together. A team name is optional but encouraged. One to four people can be on a team.

OPTIONAL CHALLENGES

During the first week, for the cost of $5, anyone can submit an optional theme or challenge for the jammers to try to include in their games. You can also donate any amount to an already-submitted challenge. These could be thematic ("The game discusses themes of friendship"), featural ("The game features voice acted dialog") or more open-ended, Easter-Egg-type challenges ("The game includes a talking dog on a skateboard"). After the first week, new submissions will be closed but more donations can be given to existing challenges.

Any team that completes a challenge will score points in the amount of the donations given to that challenge. Teams can complete more than one challenge, and any one challenge may be completed by multiple teams. When you submit your game, include in the description a list of which challenges your team completed.

All optional challenges and associated prizes will be viewable on Teams and on this jam page once they're submitted.

JUDGING

Games must be submitted for judging by September 23rd. Teams will have the opportunity to score more points by earning votes from the office. Anyone can vote for any game, including team members for their own games. To vote, deliver your cash to a jam organizer and let them know who your vote is going towards. We may also do buckets by the kitchen.

The project with the highest score will take 12% of the total pool, with the 2nd and 3rd place projects taking 8% and 5% (split equally among team members). The remaining 75% will go to the Extra Life fund.

SUBMISSION RULES

1. Submissions must not contain any copyrighted materials or assets for which the jammers do not have permission to use. In general, you should make all game assets from scratch yourselves or acquire and properly credit materials under open source or creative commons. Pre-made assets can be a big time saver, but make sure you use them legally.
2. Submissions can be made in whatever genre, using whatever tools the jammers desire, as long as it adheres to the theme. In the description of your submission, include a sentence or two describing how your game interprets the theme.
3. Write a notice in the description if your game contains any flashing lights or other visual that could trigger photosensitivity. A general rating or content notice is also recommended for mature content.
4. Hateful and harmful content will not be tolerated. Play nice.
5. If you are making a digital game, it should preferably be playable in a web-browser or through an executable for Windows. If you choose to use other operating systems / obscure hardware requirements (Raspberry Pi, VR, arcade cabinet, etc.) then you should provide that equipment in a common area at the office for players to use.
6. Games don't have to be digital. Feel free to submit a non-digital game like a tabletop / board / physical game, as long as the final product is playable. If you go this route and your game requires specific physical components like a board, pieces, dice, handouts, etc. then be sure to provide those in a common area at the office for players to use.
7. Late submissions will be accepted after the jam period ends, but you will miss out on valuable time during the judging period. Your game will not be allowed to collect vote donations until it is submitted.

FAQ:

• What is a game jam?
  • It's a short competition where individuals or groups make a small video game in a short amount of time. Each jam is different, covering a variety of themes, constraints, judging formats, time limits, and other criteria. The rules for this particular game jam are stated above.
• I have no experience with game programming / art / sound / design / etc.; Should I still participate?
  • Absolutely! Making a game, even as a total amateur, is incredibly fun and rewarding. This jam is a great opportunity try something you've never done before. That said, you will probably want to coordinate the strengths and weaknesses of your team members. Try to balance making a good game with being open to trying new things. Most of your peers are beginners too, so don't worry about it. Just join a team and have fun!
• I've never done this before. Where should I begin?
  • We recommend either finding a team with an idea you like, or coming up with an idea and pitching it to build a team around it. Once you know who you are working with (solo is fine), start brainstorming in general what you want your project to be. You could come up with a design document describing the player experience, or you could dig right in to making a prototype. At some point, you will probably want to have a plan or at least an outline with clearly defined tasks so that you can divide and conquer the work.
• What kind of tools / engines / software should I use to make my game?
  
  • First, check out http://www.sortingh.at/. It's a brief quiz that will help you find a tool that suits your needs. If you already have an idea for a game, great! If not, you can still browse through the quiz and look at the various suggestions.
  • In general, Unity is a great C#-based engine for beginners for 2D or 3D projects. There is a learning curve to familiarize yourself with the program, and it does require some basic coding knowledge. The great thing about Unity (and most other popular engines) is that it has great guides and tutorials both in-house and from the community. Just don't spend too much time in tutorials; allow yourself to learn as you work on your jam project. Godot, Construct 2, and GameMakerStudio 2 all offer similar experiences in 2D development, though not all of these have fully-featured free versions.
  • Fantasy consoles are another fun option if you're looking to make a more retro-styled game. Most allow you to create code, sprites, maps, sounds, and music tracks all in one package. They also tend to have semi-realistic constraints for retro game consoles like limited color palette, memory size, audio channels, and so on. PICO-8 is the most popular fantasy console, Lua based, with a license cost of $15. TIC-80 is free with looser constraints and the options of Lua, Javascript, and other languages. Games made with these will be simpler and closer to the metal, requiring more direct manipulation of graphics and memory. Design like it's 1989!
• How do I submit a project?
  • You'll need to make an itch.io profile first. Then come back to this jam page and click the "Join" button. When you're ready, you can upload your project under your profile menu on the main page. When you go to submit a project to the jam, you will be able to pick the project you just uploaded. It takes a little while, so don't wait until the last minute to submit. Plan to spend a few minutes on it so you can fill out all the fields, get a nice thumbnail image, etc.

You can reach out in Teams or email Adam Marsh if you have any other questions or concerns.