ScoreSpace and 8 Bits to Infinity have teamed up to bring you the ultimate game jamming and streaming experience!

Time limit: 72 hours.

Goal: Create an amazing game featuring a high score and leaderboards.

Limitation: Use limited arcade controls (one "joystick" and one "button," more details below). 

Extra: Streamers will compete in the top 3 games over the following weekend to get a high score!

The theme is SWARMS

ScoreSpace is a new type of game-jam that involves both gamedevs and streamers in the contest. Join the ScoreSpace Discord and find out more on the ScoreSpace website.

8 Bits to Infinity is a game development community improving creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest critical feedback. Join the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord and learn about the community on our website.

How It Works

The competition starts with the game developers. Their job is to create a game with a high-score feature within a 72 hour period. Once the time runs out, the games are judged by participants, streamers, and hosts. After the top three games are chosen, the torch is passed to the streamers.

The second part of the competition is for game streamers. The goal for the streamers is to get a high score in one of the top three games in 24 hours. Once the time runs out the streamers submit their recording, and the players who achieve the highest score in each game win.

Get Help

First-time jammer? Read through or listen to these articles on our website for tips.

Struggle with art and/or music? Check out Joshua's free royalty-free music and OpenGameArt for stuff you can use in your project.

Support the 8 Bits to Infinity community and my (Joshua's) other projects through my Patreon. Perks include extended feedback on any game you make.

Goodies

Everyone who enters the jam will receive:

• Up to ten minutes of feedback on Joshua's stream following the conclusion of the jam. (A recording will be posted to your game page, so don't worry if you can't catch it live!)
• All games in the jam are considered for the ScoreSpace Asset Store, a donation based asset store made of assets from ScoreJams.

Schedule

Rules

Entries which break rules or have no clear relation to the Requirement will be removed.

1. Team size: 1-4
2. All assets must be credited in your game, including Creative Commons 0 assets and your own work. Credits must be accessible from the game start (on the title or in a credits screen).
3. Answer all questions on submission completely and honestly.
4. Must work in Windows 10. Web builds are fine.
5. Any game-critical text must be in English.
6. Cannot require unusual peripherals (allow keyboard and mouse as a backup).
7. Make the game during the jam time frame. You can use general-purpose stuff previously created (i.e. character controller, project template, menu functionality, AI library, etc.).
8. You may use any freely available assets including open general-purpose source code but credit as per rule #2. (Using external assets caps your rating on the relevant category at 4 stars.)
9. No NSFW content. This includes sexual content (including language), nudity, and excessive realistic gore/violence.
10. All members of a team must be at least 13 years of age to participate.

Requirement

Create a game using the limited retro arcade control scheme of one joystick (a directional input) and one action button (press it and a thing happens). For extra "retro" credit, limit the joystick input to four or eight directions and don't take magnitude (distance pushed) into account.

Remember that you should allow keyboard/mouse input, so map your "joystick" and "button" to these. You can use arrows and WASD for four directions or the numpad keys for eight, or use the mouse's relative position for more analog control.

Your game must have a built-in high score tracker (leaderboard system) whether offline or online.

Challenge

Looking for an additional challenge? Join the 8 Bits to Infinity Challenge (coming soon) which adds more limitations to this jam.

Be sure to submit here first. You're given an extra hour to submit to the challenge after the jam is done.

Judging

Anyone who enters the jam can vote on games with the following criteria. Judges will also determine the Judges Choice using these criteria.

• Fun/Design: Enjoyment of the game. Are the mechanics interesting? Do I want to play more?
• Technical Implementation: Polish and complexity. Does the game push technical boundaries or have special tech to stand out? Are there few, if any, bugs and typos?
• Music/Sound: Audio presentation. How well does the music/sound fit the game? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Graphics/Animation: Visual presentation. How clean/consistent does it look? Are animations fluid? Is there clear understanding of color, contrast, and other visual skills? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Theme/Limitation: Implementation of jam theme and limitation. Is the theme prevalent? How unusual is the interpretation? How strictly does the game follow the requirement? Out-of-the-box thinking on the theme (not taking it literally) will score more points.

Prizes

The top three winners are chosen from the following: Developers Choice, Judges Choice, and Streamers Choice.

• Developers Choice (1st)will be voted on itch.io after the jam concludes by developers who entered the jam.
• Judges Choice (2nd) will be chosen among a panel of judges.
• Streamers Choice (3rd) will be chosen by streamers who pick the game they find most fun to play on stream.

In an event a game is chosen for multiple categories, the second-ranked game in the highest of these three will be chosen.

The top three winners receive the following:

• An announcement video uploaded to the ScoreSpace YouTube channel.
• Streamers play these games in the second part of the jam.
• Priority feedback from Joshua on an updated version of your game with at least two weeks notice. The game will be streamed to completion (defined at Joshua's discretion).
• A special discord role in both the ScoreSpace Discord server and the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord server.

Each entry qualifies for one prize, regardless of how many categories they win or how many members are on the team.

In addition, winners will be added to the list of 8 Bits to Infinity Jam Winners.

Social

Join the ScoreSpace Discord and the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord.

See the latest on the ScoreSpace Twitter and 8 Bits to Infinity Twitter.

FAQ

What tools/engines can/should I use? 
You are welcome to use anything you like, although we recommend using familiar tools for a productive game jam experience. It's best to spend time during the jam creating rather than learning new software.

We also recommend using a proper game engine to save time - something like Unity, Godot, Construct, Game Maker, etc.

Not sure what to use? Ask in either Discord or the community. People are sure to help.

I'm awful at music/art. How could I ever make a game? 
Our jams allow the use of premade assets as long as you credit appropriately. We insist you credit everything, even if it's under a Creative Commons Zero or Public Domain license. If you are found using external assets but don't credit them, your game will be disqualified. Depending on the circumstance, you may also be banned from future events. So when in doubt, provide credit.

You can find art stuff to use on websites like Open Game Art. Joshua McLean (Community Manager for 8 Bits to Infinity) also has free, royalty-free music available on his website.

We are working on a centralized resource to help locating free-to-use assets. Look for it soon!

I don't know how to program. Can I still make games? 
Absolutely! Many systems require very little programming, such as Construct or Game Maker. The best way to learn is to get your feet wet, and a game jam is a wonderful no-risk way to try out new tech.

Am I required to use theme?
Not technically, but it is a voting category, so you will score higher overall with a good use of the theme.

Should I build a Windows/Mac/Linux/web/[insert system here] version? 
Yes! Build for as many systems as you can so more people can play your game. We recommend finding someone with the target system to test your build long before the jam ends so you can be sure it works.

I didn't finish my game. Should I still submit? 
Yes! Game jams are about creating prototypes. A finished game takes years. You can still win the jam with a cool idea, even if the experience is super short.

How can I get more people to play my entry? 
Play games from the jam and other games on itch.io, then leave quality feedback. Ask the dev politely to play your game, so they know you're looking for feedback. There's also a new feature on itch.io that shows your entry when you comment on the game's jam page so be sure to do so there.

Can I make a multiplayer game? 
Yes, but it's not recommended because it's difficult for most judges (not to mention developers) to test.

Can I make a 2D/2.5D/3D game? 
Yep! There are no graphical limitations to this jam.

Can I enter other jams with the same game? 
Absolutely, as long as you follow all rules and time limitations for each jam. Note that we lock submissions, so you won't be able to upload new builds after you submit to this jam.

Where can I ask more questions? 
Ask in the community for this jam (see link at the top of the page) or on the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord or the ScoreSpace Discord.