Description
Making a game by yourself is hard. But finding teammates is even harder. Finding reliable teammates is damn near impossible. So how do you find teammates without committing to a huge project? The solution: a game jam, not about making games, but about making teams. Welcome to...
Whether you're joining to practice working with existing teammates, or you're here looking for that one missing link, your goal is the same: form a team and prototype what working together would actually be like.
The jam lasts from Sunday, January 2nd - Sunday, January 9th. Voting lasts another week after that on Sunday, January 16th till 11pm EST. This is meant to simulate a week of what working together could actually be like so get organized, take breaks, get sleep, and stay hydrated. Hopefully this will leave you well prepared if you're thinking about joining the Global Game Jam (January 20 - January 30) which only lasts 48 hours.
To emphasize one of the goals of the jam the theme is Organization!
Your game should not be overly ambitious. You should focus on making a prototype that can be made into a larger game if your team really gets along and is encouraged. Nothing is more discouraging than coming away from a game jam with a game whose foundation is so messy that it needs to be thrown out.
Rules
- Read the rules.
- There are no prizes.
- No solo work. You need to work in a team. The team can be any size (2-10+), but the point is to meet people and learn how to work together.
- You need to create new game idea that fits the jam's theme.
- Do not crunch.
- Keep your games safe for work. We also will not tolerate racism, sexism, or any other form of discrimination when it comes to participation in the jam or submissions made.
- You are NOT allowed to submit games late.
- Submissions must be playable on modern Windows systems or HTML5 without requiring extra steps or software/plugins to be installed.
FAQ
- Where can I meet people? -- There are tons of options! We have the game jam community forums, or you could post a help wanted ad in r/INAT or r/GameDevClassifieds. If you have any more feel free to suggest them, and I'll tell everyone else about them.
- I have some friends I already work with. Can we still join as a team? -- Yes! Team Jam is meant to be a great way simply meet people, or fill in gaps in your team.
- What engine am I allowed to use? -- Any engine, and any tools you need to get the job done in a timely manner.
- Can we submit more than one game? -- No. Commit yourself to one project. Multiple submissions will disqualify the whole team.
- Do we have to follow the theme? -- Yes. If everyone can work together well on something brand new then you have a better chance of translating that teamwork to an existing project.
- Can I use code and assets from other projects? -- Yes, but the goal is to build a new project from scratch with a team. It's one thing to build off of existing work, it's another to copy something whole sale and say it's new. Same logic for models. You're not the first person to need a gun, knife, or hammer model. You can get those for free. However, you should come up with and add original assets to your project.
- Can I use third party assets? -- Yes, but make sure you give credit. The credits don't need to be fancy, but they need to be there.
- Can I make a VR or AR game? -- Yes, but we don't have any way of playing most VR games. If your team is set on making a VR game then just know we won't play it.
- Who owns the final product? -- You do! If you feel like you’ve really jived with your team feel free to go on and keep working on your project together. You could even sell the project here if you want.
- We couldn't finish our game... Can we still submit it? -- Yes! It's unreasonable to expect a fully formed game to come out of seven days of work. The point is you met new people and you got something done. Our hope is that you go on to make more games in the future!
- Who can vote? -- Everyone! This will help you see how your teamwork, ideas, and skills are interpreted by the broader market.