An intro to the S.I.C.K.

Released originally in 1994, we are proud to resurrect the S.I.C.K. from what was previously thought to be a completely lost console. With your help, we intend to curate long lost games on the platform, as well as add new ones- alongside art, writing, and music.

First released in July 1994, the S.I.C.K. (Super Indie City Konsole) flew largely under the radar of other console giants at the time, despite having a slate of semi-popular launch titles. It would by and large disappear after 2001, when the last known copies of the konsole in a resale store in Chicago were stolen during a break-in (conspicuously, no other items were touched except for a limited edition Indie City James figure). Titles such as Slime Miner remain popular in illegal speedrunning communities. Although the konsole was rumored to have garnered the hostility of Garbin "Ultra Slime" Slime, then CEO of Slime Inc, these rumors remain unsubstantiated. 

A fan run magazine ran from 1995 to 2003, titled THE DUMPSTER DIVER. Post 2001 it briefly continued covering fan projects and events, before shuttering in August of 2003.

About the jam

S.I.C.K. is a Chicago community game jam- focused on a communal fantasy console, complete with a shared, collaboratively built history. While this IS still a game jam, as a fantasy console jam it is open to NON GAME ENTRIES as well. Composer without a team? Make tracks for an unreleased or lost media game. Maybe pair up with an artist for the cover art. If you're an artist, make mock ups for what could have existed on the S.I.C.K.- maybe write something to go with it! Make a game poster. Write a review for one of the konsole's biggest hits. If your entry is not a game, please provide a description! Give us some background on the concept, tell us about your process, your influences, whatever you want! 

We will have a PHYSICAL VERSION OF THE KONSOLE, made in collaboration with Zachary Kolman. As the konsole runs on a raspberry pi, we highly recommend that you make your game under 1 GB (2GB at most). 2D games will run the easiest, but we have also stress tested it with Metal Gear solid- so any low poly stuff should run just fine as well. 

At the conclusion of the jam, Night City will host an in-person community reception and showcase (RSVP required) of all of the officially selected and community favorite games submitted to the jam. RSVP HERE

Bootscreen and Palette

We'll be supplying a bootscreen with the S.I.C.K. logo in a number of formats. Participants are highly encouraged to include this at the launch of their game to help unify it as part of the fantasy console's library!

There is a media pack including the bootscreen, palette, logo, and a bonus sprite sheet HERE.

We're also supplying a palette for the jam! This is NOT a requirement, just an option for anyone looking to unify their game's aesthetic.

ENTRY SPECS (READ THIS)

• Entries should be either 2D or Low resolution 3D; ultimately you can make whatever you want, but the constraints of a Raspberry pi means the lower intensity the better. We've been able to get Metal Gear Solid to run decently in terms of 3D games!
• When submitting your game, please include a PREVIEW IMAGE and game description (up to 120 characters), as well as a JSON file titled manifest.json containing the following info:
  
  
  {
      "title": "[GAME NAME]",    
  "description": "[GAME DESCRIPTION]",    
  "image": "[GAME PREVIEW IMAGE]",    
  "command": "[GAME LAUNCH COMMAND]" }
  
  Corey "The Moose" has provided a super helpful document HERE
  
  
• PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR GAME AS BOTH AN .EXE OR BROWSER BUILD, AS WELL AS AN ANDROID BUILD FOR THE KONSOLE ITSELF
• We highly recommend making your game in a 4:3 aspect ratio, 640 x 480 (max 720p) to ensure it runs well on the physical konsole. 
• CONTROL SCHEME: Keyboard and standard XBOX control schemes are both acceptable, but XBOX control scheme is highly recommended.
• If building in Godot, we highly recommend running in Compatibility and NOT forward.
• Gore and other more graphic content are acceptable, we just ask that any entries containing particularly sensitive elements be flagged accordingly. 
• For Artists making posters and any participants with games  (encouraged but not required) Posters should be included as a downloadable file on the submission’s Itch.io page, sized 11 x 17 inches (about 3300 px by 5100 px), at 300 DPI and as a PDF. We will print these for accepted games and pieces and display them as part of the showcase. 
• All entries should be tagged with #SICK2025
• Only games officially selected will be showcased at the in-person reception.
• Games are required to submit the jam entry form to qualify for official selection, and must be available for the live showcase to qualify for prizes.

Schedule

• March 28 - 7:00 PM CST: Jam starts! Modifiers announced! Speed meet in the Indie City Games Discord
• April 19 - 11:59 PM CST: Submissions due, community voting opens.
• April 21- 11:59 PM CST: Community Voting ends!
• Saturday, April 26 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST: Community reception and game showcase (RSVP required!) held at Night City 

Theme

Optional prompts are:

• Lost Media
• Dumpster Diver
• Mecha Rats
• Ooze Goons
• Corporate Slime

 Optional modifiers are voted on by our ko-fi supporters!

Quick Links

Indie City Games Discord

Game Jam entry form

RSVP for community reception / game showcase

S.I.C.K. Media Pack