8 Bits to Infinity presents SHAPE JAM II: ART EDITION, a two-week game jamming event.

In the first week (click here to join), developers will create a prototype using simple placeholder graphics and an easy way to import audio and visuals to the game.

This is the second week, where artists will create and polish assets both visual and auditory to import into games from the first week.

Everyone is welcome to participate in both weeks (on two separate projects) or whichever appeals to you more.

The theme is... CONNECTIONS

What is 8 Bits to Infinity?  A game development community working to improve creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest critical feedback.  We host a new game jam every month!

Not sure what a game jam is? Want to know how to do well? Check out these articles on game jam success.

Join us on Discord to discuss game dev and the jam, join the logo challenge (in #challenges), form teams (in #team-up), and generally have a good time. :)

Not sure where to start in game development? Follow the link above to our Discord and ask away! Our community is glad to help you get started in programming, art, design, or game development in general.

Want to form a team? Check out the Crowdforge page or join us on Discord above.

Check out Joshua's Patreon to support his projects, including the 8 Bits to Infinity community and jams. Perks include extended feedback on your game jam games!

Schedule

Rules

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

1. 1-4 members per team, one entry per team.
2. Credit everything in your entry, including Creative Commons 0 assets and your own work. This must be accessible from the start of the game (in the title or a credits menu).
3. Answer all of the questions on submission completely and honestly.
4. Must work in Windows 10. Web builds are fine.
5. Cannot require unusual peripherals (have keyboard and mouse as a backup).
6. Make everything during the jam or use freely available assets (including open source code). Exception: You may use general-purpose assets (general-purpose code, logos, or fonts) made before the jam.
7. No NSFW content. This includes sexual content (including language), nudity, or excessive realistic gore/violence.
8. All participants must be at least 13 years of age to submit a game.

Requirement

Download a game from part 1 of this jam.

Add audiovisual content to the game to complete it.

Either add your credit to the game as per the author's instructions, or include a file such as "credits.txt" with your name (and any other relevant credits) in the build. This is to satisfy rule #2 above.

Upload your version to itch.

You must include the following on your game page or be disqualified:

• A link to the original game entry
• A credit for the original author

Challenges

In addition to the theme, we will include optional challenges which have no effect on judge rating, but can make the jam more fun.

Be sure to mention which challenges you accepted in your jam page, so players know to look for them!

FAQ

About the Requirement

Do I have to get the developer's permission to modify and upload the game?
Anyone who entered the first part of this jam has given express permission for you to add assets to their game and reupload to itch with appropriate credit and link, specifically for this jam. 

Any entry failing to credit and link the original project correctly will be disqualified. Any entry posting to other jams may also be reported.

Other Questions

What tools/engines can/should I use?  
Anything that makes colors or noise and produces the necessary file types for your chosen game.

I didn't finish. Should I still submit?  
Yes! A solid prototype could still win the jam, and it's worth showcasing your work to get feedback.

How can I get more people to play my entry?   
Play other entries and leave quality feedback. Be sure to politely ask the dev to play your game, so they know you want feedback. There's 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 enter other jams with the same game?  
Not for part two, because it's not your game. The creators from part one have only agreed to release their game for use in this jam - not in any other jams. Anyone found violating this will not only be disqualified, but also reported for copyright violation.

Where can I ask more questions?   
Ask away in the community or on Discord.

Judging

Games will be rated by a panel of judges with differing views but a shared interpretation of star values and voting categories. Judge entries and disqualified submissions will not be rated. The original game will not be part of the judging process. We will look exclusively at the elements that have been added during this week.

Judging will be on the following criteria:

• Technical: Polish and complexity of audiovisual content.
•  Music/Sound: Audio presentation. How well does the music/sound fit the game? For heavily narrative games with no audio, we will consider writing skill (style, usage, grammar) instead. 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 in audiovisual content. Is the theme prevalent? How unusual is the interpretation? Out-of-the-box thinking on the theme (not taking it literally) will score more points.

Prizes

Three winners will be recognized for each of the two parts, for a total of six prizes:

• Judges' Choice will be the highest-ranking overall game in the jam.
• Developers' Choice will be selected by a closed vote among everyone who entered the jam.
• Community Choice will be selected by an open vote by the 8 Bits to Infinity community and anyone else interested in playing the games.

All winners will receive the following:

• A choice of two games from a list of several available Steam keys.
• (Optional) Showcase of a commercially released game you choose on Joshua's stream after the voting period. The game must be in his collection, available for free, or gifted.
• 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).

Each entry may only qualify for one prize, regardless of how many categories they win.

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

Tweeter of the Month

Any tweet with the #8bitstoinfinity hashtag in January  counts toward winning Tweeter of the Month, given to the person with the highest quantity of relevant tweets. The winner's Twitter handle will be displayed on Joshua's stream for the month of February, with a link to their Twitter placed among the chatbot's random messages.