The theme for the jam is DIRECTION. Good luck, have fun!

This 72-hour jam is all about games that make players want to speedrun.

What's a speedrun? An extra challenge to master a game and finish it as quickly as possible.

Speedrunning is fun because you see constant improvement. Think you mastered the game? Well, try again, and you might save another 0.5 seconds. And there's no feeling in the world like getting a World Record (or so I've heard).

Speedrunners find the most optimal route by learning and practicing the game, using perfect knowledge and execution to blaze through the game. This often involves exploiting glitches or oversights in the game's programming.

Looking for a team? Check out the CrowdForge page.

Join us on Discord to form teams, discuss the jam, and generally have a good time. :)

Rules

• The game must work on a normal monitor in Windows (no VR or unusual peripherals).
• Use any engine or framework you like, including general-purpose code you wrote before the jam.
• All other assets (game design, art, sound, text) must be made during the jam, or freely available and properly credited.
  • Some assets may say "no credit required" but in this jam we require it, because you should always credit others' work.
• The theme will be announced one hour before the jam begins.
• Games must use the theme to qualify for gift card prizes.
• You may work solo or in a team, but the maximum team size is 4.
• Questions? Ask in the community or on Discord.

Requirements

• A clear beginning and end, so the player knows how to time a run.
• Easily defined "parts" of the game like levels, bosses, checkpoints, days, etc.
• Of course, fun gameplay! Speedrunning requires playing the game over and over and over.
• Game length (time-wise) that the player can control.
  • Allow the player to be faster as they get familiar with the game.

Suggestions

• The less RNG the better, but you can throw in a bit to keep runners on their toes.
• Gamepad support (usually) makes tricks easier to pull off.
• An in-game timer can help those who don't want to use extra timing software.
• Save fastest times to a leaderboard for automatic competition/improvement.
• Special techniques to save time that require tricky execution.
  • For example, multiple buttons in sequence or at once with specific timing.
  • This can be things like dashing, double jumping, dodging, etc.
• Optional collectibles/pickups which affect speed.
  • These force the player to decide between getting the pickup for speed, or skipping it to save time.

Prizes!

Joshua will be judging the games for this event with six criteria: Graphics, Audio, Fun, Technical, Theme, and Speedrun Potential. If you want to be a judge in a future event, get in touch!

Every game will be featured on Joshua's stream where he will play for at least 15 minutes and give detailed feedback.

If there are at least 10 entries (entered games, not participants), gift card prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries. Winners may choose to receive a gift card for Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation.

• 10+ entries: $5 1st place
• 30+ entries: $10 1st place, $5 2nd place
• 70+ entries: $20 1st place, $10 2nd place, $5 3rd place

Only one gift card will be granted per winning entry, regardless of team size.