A 10-day game jam challenge to create a prototype designed for speedrunning!

All skill levels are welcome from beginner to professional. New to this whole thing? Never made a game before? Play some jam-winning games to see where you can be after several jams of practice.

(Thanks to Pixel Prophecy for the jam cover image! Check out his work here.)

Keynote

Highlights

Schedule

Jam Focus (Required): Speedrun

A speedrun is an extra challenge to complete a game as quickly as possible. This often leads to unusual strategies and exploitation of glitches to minimize the real time that passes between starting the game and hitting the end screen.

Because a speedrun inherently requires finishing the game, the number one requirement for entries to this jam is they must have a clear beginning and ending.

Pro tip: Develop the smallest possible version of your game from start to finish first. No bells and whistles, quick art, first-draft music and sound. Make sure it's playable and speedrunnable. This is formally known as a "horizontal slice." Once you have this, your game is ready to submit at any time as you add more stuff.

You are not required to implement a built-in timer, or to show the final time at the end of the game. Speedrunners often use external tools such as WSplit or LiveSplit to track their time. However, an in-game timer does make it easier to ensure times are accurate.

In summary:

• No limitation on engines, tools, or genre
• Prototype must have a clear start and finish for timing
• See below for additional rules

Theme (Semi-Optional): NATURE

The theme is optional, but remember Theme/Limitation counts for 1/6th of your Community Choice score. Also, the theme can be a great way to come up with ideas if you're stuck!

More creative interpretations of the theme will generally score higher, but don't go so far that the theme is unrecognizable.

Diversifiers

Diversifiers are optional, but are a great way to help your game stand out. Plus, it's more fun (and more educational) to work with extra limitations.

Please targeting at most one diversifier. The purpose is to diversify entries, not to impress with squeezing them all into one prototype.

The diversifiers are:

1. Paper Garden Palette: limit all art to the Paper Garden palette by Cactus Celery and use at least one art pack from the Palette Art Challenge

2. Revised Music: use at least one track from the Music Revision Challenge

3. Theme, Revisited: in addition to the main theme, use another theme from a past 8 Bits to Infinity jam

Here's the full list of themes: direction, cyberpunk, exploration, underground, darkness, black & white, "It's dangerous to go alone...", lost in shadows, become the villain, dragons and dungeons, connections, two alternate dimensions, mirror worlds, no enemies, swarms, slide, the world keeps changing, there and back, broken, switch, decay, start small, another world, on the edge, break, stream, everything is backwards, cycles, turn up the heat, gravity, chase, grow, just two, cross paths, branches, make it fly, binary, myth, legend, and folklore, the truth can only be learned by marching forward, escape, ancient history

Judging and Post-Jam Videos

You (contributors to any game entered into this jam) determine the Community Choice by voting on games after the jam concludes. Check out the Ratings Guide for how to interpret categories and tips on good star ratings.

The highest overall rated game will be placed in the list of 8 Bits to Infinity jam winners

RetroIndieJosh will:

• Create a highlights video on his YouTube channel
• Live stream speedrun attempts on his Twitch channel (top game in each category + personal favorite)
• Post a recording of the best attempts on his YouTube channel

Rules

Failure to abide by these rules will result in your submission being disqualified and ineligible for rating, or removed from the jam, at the organizer's discretion.

Teams & Credit

• You can work solo or in a team of up to 4 members.
  • This total only includes people actively working on your team. For instance, if you include Retro Indie Josh's free-to-use music in the game, he's not part of the team.
• You must credit everything in the game, even if it's CC0 or Public Domain.
  • If you're unable to track down an exact source, just credit where you got the art/music.
  • Credits can be on the game page or in the game. If credits are only in the game, they must be accessible from the start for verification purposes.

Technical

• Your game must be available on the web or as a download that will work on Windows 11.
  • You are encouraged to create additional versions, such as Linux or Mac.
• No limitations on graphics, audio, engine, library, framework, programming language, and other tools.

Content

• Your game must use the jam focus, but the theme is optional.
  • However, note that the theme is a good chunk of your score.
• You may create any general-purpose code (i.e., not game-specific) before the jam begins, such as character controllers, project templates, menu functionality, AI library, etc.
• You may reuse general-purpose assets from past games.
  • We won't force you to draw another chair, but don't reuse a main character or full level art, for instance.
• You are allowed to use AI generation for art, writing, code, etc., but you must clearly state on the game page and/or in the game that you used AI, and what you used it for.
• You may not work on any game-specific elements such as design, art, music, or sound until the jam begins.
  • However, pre-jam discussion and brainstorming of general ideas is both allowed and encouraged.
• Any game-critical text must be in English.
  • While we understand and appreciate that our jams are international, this is the primary language for this jam.
• Your game must not contain extreme graphic violence, sexual content, or explicit language requiring an 18+ rating.
  • If you are unsure whether your game crosses this line, it probably does.
• Your game must not contain any hateful content including any violence, threat of violence, or discrimination against other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.
• We encourage the use of trigger warnings if your game involves material a reasonable person would consider sensitive.

Submitting

• WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU UPLOAD AND SUBMIT EARLY.
  • You are allowed to modify your game page, including files, until the deadline.
  • You are allowed to edit answers to your submission questions (through your submission page) until the deadline.
• Step 1: Click the Join Jam button at the top of this page.
• Step 2: Make your game.
• Step 3: Create a game project page on itch and upload your game files. See this documentation for help.
• Step 4: Submit the game to the jam. After uploading your game, return to this page and click "Submit Your Project" at the top.
  • Be prepared to answer a few questions about your entry when submitting. You must answer all of these questions honestly and completely before the deadline.
  • Submission time is a hard deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.
  • Although you cannot modify files after the deadline has passed, you are still free to edit your game page. But note it is a violation of the rules to link to an updated version created after the deadline, and your entry will be removed.

About Us

Hosted by 8 Bits to Infinity: a game development community dedicated to improving creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest, critical feedback. Join us on Discord, check out our website, and take a look at our past jams and challenges.

The man behind 8 Bits to Infinity is Retro Indie Josh: gaming content creator and music producer. Check out his game music (free for you to use in jams and commercial projects!) and YouTube.