SPOOKY SCREENSAVER JAM

Theme

Make a spooky screensaver and submit it by the deadline!

Screensaver here meaning  an application which has some kind of graphical movement that goes on continuously regardless of user input, and spooky meaning broadly Halloween-themed.

Dates

The jam begins October 23rd at midnight and ends at 11:59 PM  on October 31st. All times CST (GMT - 6). In the event of confusion or mismatch between social media posts and the itch page, the itch page clock is the final authority.

Joining a team 

Participants are strongly encouraged to team up with other entrants! Find people who complement your strengths! Looking for teammates? Come say hi in the Dogpit Discord! We also encourage you to say hi in the discord regardless and meet other chill gamedevs, artists, game audio people, voice actors, and other neat folks!

Contact

@TeamDogpit or info@teamdogpit.com. Tweet your game WIPs with the hastag #dogpitjam so we can find and retweet them!

Categories and Judging

• Best of Jam
• Best use of Theme
• Best Behavior
• Best Art
• Best Audio
• Community Choice

Until the start of the jam, these categories may be subject to change.

Judges are Xibanya and probably a bunch of other people, TBA! Judging brackets will be announced 1-3 days after the close of submissions.

Prizes TBA!

Jam Stream 

All entries will be played live on stream at https://twitch.tv/manuelaxibanya with commentary by judges. Livestream dates and schedule will be announced after the close of submissions.

JAM RULES

Failure to follow these rules will result in your removal from the jam.

• Make a screensaver that follows the theme and submit it by the deadline!
• Don't work on your submission before the start of the jam. This is enforced solely by the honor system, so please respect your fellow jammers!
•  Absolutely no hate speech or harassment of any kind will be permitted in entries, the Dogpit Discord server, or twitch chat.
• The game you submit to the jam must be free for a minimum of four weeks after submissions are closed.
• Submissions must be playable on Windows 10 or in-browser.
• No photorealistic gore or violence. No jump scares.
• YOUR SPOOKY SCREENSAVER MUST NOT START IN FULLSCREEN. DO NOT HAVE THE APPLICATION LAUNCH AUTOMATICALLY IN FULLSCREEN. NO DEFAULT FULLSCREEN.

Jam Suggestions

You don't have to do these but jam organizers would be ever so grateful if you did:

• Your game will not be showcased on stream for longer than ten minutes; plan accordingly.
• INPUT IS OPTIONAL! But if your Spooky Screensaver does take input, have a control scheme that works if the user mouses left-handed or allow rebinding controls. This is most relevant to games that use WASD-style first person movement -- if that's the case, it's suggested you allow movement with arrow keys as well. 
• Do not require the player to quickly press a button repeatedly for several seconds.
• If your game has spoken dialogue, include subtitles

FAQ

Q: Is pixelated gore okay? A: Yes, make all your violent pixelated dreams come true. By "No photorealistic gore or violence" we mean don't submit a dang snuff film. Nobody wants to see that.

Q: Does my submission have to compile into a valid windows screensaver format? A: No, we're just using "screensaver" as shorthand for "software that does something interesting-looking on its own"

Q:  Can my submission take input from the user? A: Yes.

Q: Can my submission not take any input at all from the user? A: Yes

Q: Does my submission have to be scary? A: No. 

Q: I've never made a game before, can I enter?  A: Yes

Q: I'm not very good at making games, should I enter? A: Yes

Q: Can I use Gamemaker, Unity, Unreal, my own boilerplate, and/or my own engine?  A: Yes

Q: Can I reuse my own code from prior projects? A: Yes, though if you do so it would be sporting to open source that code and link it in the community Discord server so that anyone could use it if they wanted to.

Q: Can I take a game I have already made and modify it to fit the theme?  A: No

Q: What time zone determines the start and end dates?  A: Central Standard Time (CST, GMT - 6) 

Q: Can I join the jam after it has already started?  A: Yes, you can join at any time. You just have to submit a game before the deadline. 

Q: Can I work with a team?  A: Yes

Q: Can I be a member of more than one team?  A: Yes

Q: Is there a limit to the number of people that can be on the same team?  A: No

Q: Can I submit more than one game? A: Yes

Q: Can I use open source assets, unity store assets, or other assets that are available to the general public?  A: Yes

Q: What happens if I don't submit my game in time?  A: Your game won't be judged and won't be played on the livestream. I still encourage you to keep working on the game on your own time though.

Q: Can I update my game after the end of the jam?  A: Yes but judging will be based on the copy that was submitted by the deadline.