That's another wrap, folks! 
The winners were:

First Place: Insert Cartridge Here by Tillion at Break Even Games. Insert Video Game Here by Break Even Games (itch.io)

Second Place: Aki’s Last Night by DoubleVGames Aki's last night by DoubleVGames (itch.io)

Third Place: Redacted by Occult Soft Works REDACTED by Occult Softworks, Firesong (itch.io)

Fourth Place: Cursed Harvest Trials by Team GloomyCat and Petraefa Cursed Harvest Trials by Petraefa (itch.io)

Cash Prizes await winning entries in our Adventurous Game Jam! Join us for an exciting opportunity to build a quick narrative project in Unreal Engine. You'll have two weeks to stir up your creative juices. The two main rules are that it must be a narrative-driven game and must be developed with Unreal Engine. Please note that not all judges have VR equipment!
Our Discord server link is here: https://discord.gg/senscape

Prizes: $500 for first place, $300 for second, $200 for third  

Stay in touch!

Senscape has been supporting the adventure game community for many years. We’re the developers behind games such as Serena, the highly anticipated ASYLUM, and the cult classic Scratches. Our friendly and lively community on Discord will be our primary point of encounter for this jam with dedicated channels and resources. You can follow our Twitter account as well for the latest news and announcements.

And the theme is: 

The Season of Change, Harvest, and Unknown Beginnings!

Important Dates:

—September 18: Jam begins and theme is announced.

—September 22nd: Submission of game title and project plan (optional).

—October 2nd: Deadline to submit finished games (exact time TBA).

—October 17th: Announcement of winners at (exact time TBA).

We may announce earlier, depending upon the number of entries.

 
The rules are straightforward:

1.    Anyone is welcome to participate in the jam, regardless of experience!

2.    You can go solo or with a team. Maximum team size is 5, excluding voice actors.

3.    Your game must be developed with Unreal Engine (versions 4 and 5 as desired).

4.    The genre of your game must be adventure. Please refer to the note below for our definition of adventure.

5.    Credit your team members on your submission page. If you are the only member, please credit yourself as a sole developer.

6.    Please don't start working on the game prior to the jam as it's unfair to other participants.

7.    You may use pre-made assets, either made by you, from a previous project, or from a marketplace. You should, however, indicate if the work is 100% original or if assets were sourced from an online marketplace. As such, these should be noted with credit given to the original creators in your submission.

8.    Submissions that we deem offensive in any way or in poor taste will be disqualified and removed.

9.    Your game must be free to play until the voting period is over.

10.  Please include a reference to "Senscape Adventurous Game Jam"  in your game credits and store page, even if the game is later released commercially. By submitting a game, you give Senscape permission to showcase your game in any future videos, streams, etc.

11.  No AI

We are unable to process payments to developers located within zones affected by sanctions. Feel free to reach out to us with questions. We will try our best!

Note that we define an "adventure game" in this context as a narrative-driven or story-based game with optional emphasis on puzzles (i.e., logical or inventory-based) and no reliance on action elements.

To further clarify: If your game involves a reflex-based action (quickly outrunning a monster or you suffer perma-death, and a person can’t complete the game because of that) it will be frowned upon. If you offer a "skip" option, or another way to deal with it, a puzzle for example, that would be fine.

Firewatch is an example of a narrative game that features action sequences that fit our criteria.  If in doubt, propose your concept in a project plan, and we'll get back to you!