ZotJam

This is a private game jam hosted for UCI students and alumni

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THEME: BUILD YOUR OWN THEME

General:

1. Number
2. Star
3. Geometric
4. Key
5. Charge
6. Rock
7. Abyss
8. Tether
9. Cheese
10. Weather
11. Broken Beyond Repair 
12. No End in Sight 
13. Hunting the Hunter 
14. Skulduggery 
15. Solidarity 
16. High Roller 
17. Second Chance
18. Dream
19. Apocalypse
20. Domination
21. Winning is Losing
22. Mysterious
23. Itty Bitty
24. Goliath
25. Pun-ny

Bonus: Abraham Lincoln

Technical:

1. Can’t Stop Moving
2. Can’t Move
3. Multiple Endings
4. Idle Game
5. Button Mashing
6. Min-Maxing
7. Endless
8. One Input
9. Deckbuilding
10. Upgrades
11. Slippery
12. Fixed-Screen
13. Randomness
14. Adaptive Audio
15. Multiple Cameras
16. Micromanagement
17. Two Characters, One Player
18. One Character, All Players
19. Fog of War
20. Typing
21. Undo
22. Teleportation 
23. Replay the level, backwards
24. Tower Defense
25. Altered Gravity

Bonus: External Gameplay

PICK AT LEAST 3 TOTAL THEMES FROM BOTH LISTS (COMBINED)!

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JUDGING CRITERIA

• Theme Relevance
  • Conveys the theme in a direct or original way
• Creativity
  • Demonstrates complexity or originality within the game's mechanics or environment
• Fun and Engagement
  • Creates a gameplay loop that is highly replayable or unforgettable 
• Ambience
  • Presents an environment that is both immersive and relevant to the game

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JUDGING CATEGORIES

• Judges’ Choice
  • Judges will be asked to play the Top 5 Highest Rated Games based on the overall rating and will be providing their rankings through the same judging criteria.
  • Only 3 Games with the Highest Average Rating will earn their respective prizes.
• Audience’s Choice
  • Awarded to the Game with the Highest Average Rating that is also not chosen by the Judges as a 1st Place Place winner.
    • I.e., Judge’s Choice 1st cannot earn the Audience’s Choice prize. If Audience’s Choice is Judge’s Choice 2nd, Judge’s Choice 3rd becomes Judge’s Choice 2nd and the former Judge’s Choice 2nd earns the prize for Audience’s Choice (logic also applies for Judge's Choice 3rd).

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PRIZES

• Judges’ Choice
  • 1st Place - $50 Steam Gift Card (per team)
  • 2nd Place - $30 Steam Gift Card (per team)
  • 3rd Place -  $20 Steam Gift Card (per team)

• Audience’s Choice
  • $50 Steam Gift Card (per team)

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RULES

1. Deadline for all submissions to the jam are due Sunday, April 12 @ 5:00PM PST. There will be a grace period to submit your build to the jam, but you are not allowed to edit your build whatsoever during this period.
2. Generative AI can not be used for any game and game-related assets. 
   
3. If any premade assets are used, be sure to properly credit each asset  on either your itch.io page, game, or readme file.
4. Do not sabotage or interfere with other teams during development. If you do, you will be kicked out of the jam and all future jams. There will be no warnings.
5. You can only have a Max Team Size of 6 People.
6. No nudity, intense gore, or illicit drug references. Keep it PG-13.
7. Be polite. Be considerate. Have a plan to be mindful of everyone you meet!