The purpose of this game jam is to make a demo for a final game - it could be for a real game, or an imaginary one.

Who is this for?

Anyone. Beginner, intermediate, advanced - whether you've released free games or shipped commercial ventures or never finished a game before.

What is the theme?

No theme, as this jam assumes that you will use your own original content.

There are four categories of entries.

Chapter One Demo

An introductory portion of a game usually spanning the first chapter, first couple of scenes, or first act of the story. Works well with any game with an emphasis on story content, provided that the first chapter is gripping. Examples that work with this category: visual novels, twine games, other interactive fiction games, or episodic story games.

Encapsulation Demo

A demo that condenses story, theme, or gameplay. Aspects of the demo sometimes differ considerably from the final product, but the most important elements of the final product are showcased. Suited to any kind of game, but especially suitable for games with more gameplay. Also good for very long-form stories in which the story is best encapsulated by taking a scene from somewhere later on in the game rather than the first chapter.

Exploration Demo

A demo that strips down content to basic locations the player can visit, perhaps with characters the player can talk to or otherwise interact with, perhaps sprinkled with some gameplay or puzzles. Overarching narrative may be absent. Works well with RPG's and point'n'clicks with many locations, or games where the location and atmosphere are the draw.

Technical Showcase

Not to be confused with the tech demo, this is the category to showcase a particular skill. There are many options: showcase art and UI assets or music you made in game format, explore procedural generation, etc.... Gameplay may be absent, or is present merely meant to showcase art or some other technique, narrative may be absent - unless what you're showcasing is interactive fiction technique or procedural dialogue, or something of that nature. An example might be a simple one-room game with simple UI and a few interactive hotspots with no significant gameplay - but the art is fully developed and the UI displays unique themed art direction.

Games will be available for voting by jam participants after the deadline. The purpose of voting is to give feedback to developers.

Why make a demo?
Demos can be used to drum up interest in a long term project, act as a means of convincing people to consider your kickstarter, or pre-orders for your commercial game. In this context, they can serve as proof that you are capable of taking on the project and completing it. Less formally, they can serve as a way of throwing ideas out there and seeing what people like. Or perhaps you want to figure out what you'd like in a game before committing to a longer term project.

Brief History
Demos in the old days often came with newly-released PC games in the box to get players interested or aware of new titles. The term demo has also been applied to technical experiments or to showcase technical achievements that were never intended to lead to finished games.

Do I need a story?
Not required. But suggested. And by story, this could merely consist of silent characters (or abstract cubes with personalities - whatever), vaguely alluding to Something Happening in the finished game.

Whether you choose to include a story or not, consider what will be your 'hook' as part of your demo. Some questions to use or discard as they apply to you:

• Why is the player playing your game? Why wouldn't they play a different game with similar gameplay?
• What is the game's reason to be? What is its purpose? No need to wax philosophical unless you want to - 'I just want to make a little rpg,' or 'I like retro aesthetic' or any number of other answers are perfectly fine.
• What is interesting, delightful, new, or engaging about your game? Not every game must reinvent the wheel - perhaps it only refines the wheel, or even returns to an uhm... older model of wheel, with a new coat of paint, or - well, you get the idea.
• What does the player gain out of your game? 'Fun' is a viable answer, but try to think about it in more detail. What have you gotten out of games you have played in a similar genre or with similar or related game mechanics to that found in your demo?
• What makes you replay a game? What makes the ending of a game satisfying? Is it possible to make your demo replayable? Why or why not? Think of the demo's ending. How can the demo end on a note that makes people want to play the finished game?

How you choose to approach your demo is ultimately up to you.

Why is this game jam so long?
It's possible to create something fairly polished in 30 days - well, depending on what you are trying to do. If you finish early, consider refining your demo until the end of the allotted time.

Can I use this or that engine?
You can use any engine you like, so long as the finished product is easy for players to run. If your game requires an interpreter, such as an Inform7 game, please provide clear instructions and links to the interpreter.

Can I enter a game demo I'm already working on?
Yes! You can finish a game demo you've already started, provided you're still at the beginning stages.

How about for a finished game I've already made? Or a finished demo?
Please do not create and enter a demo for an already-completed game, nor enter a demo you've already made.

Can I use pre-existing art assets or music?
Yes. However, you must have a license to use them, or it must be your own work, or the assets must be released under a suitable Creative Commons license. Public domain re-use and re-imagining is, of course, allowed. Please cite sources in your credits.

Content restrictions? Conduct? Giving Feedback?
Only that which is required by Itch.io ToS and your common sense. Please mark games with adult content appropriately, and use non-explicit thumbnails. During the judging period, offer plain honest feedback in a respectful manner. I imagine most of the participation will be through voting rather than comment feedback, but even so, don't be rude for the sake of it - it's okay to disagree with feedback, and likewise, it's okay to not like something. However, you are responsible for your conduct.

Inspiration
There are many varied opinions about making demos and their necessity. There will be a thread on the discussion board for people to make suggestions.

Engines (Tips for Beginners)

If you're a complete beginner, I recommend you check out Twine or Ren'Py. There's also Inform7, a text adventure engine that makes use of natural language script.

Adventure Game Studio is sort of beginner friendly; there are lots of good tutorials. If you don't mind picking up Unity, there's also Adventure Creator (not a free engine). Adventure Creator doesn't require coding and is fairly easy to learn if you follow the video tutorials closely, although Unity itself has a complex interface and that also has a learning curve. Fungus is a free visual novel/point'n'click engine for Unity as well. Godot has a point and click framework. My hunch is that a complete beginner with zero coding experience would probably become frustrated with Godot or Unity, and if you're working solo and want to complete a game in the time frame, Twine or Ren'Py might be better.

And if you're not a beginner you probably know which engine you wish to use. That said, if anyone wants to recommend other easy or beginner-friendly engines, please let me know on the discussion boards. I've only referenced here engines that I've personally tried.

Visual Novel Template for Twine- since a couple of people have asked now, I released my visual novel template I used for my game, Asher, as a separate download. Twine is surprisingly flexible... you could definitely make a simple text-based RPG or puzzle adventure in it, too.