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A Manifesto for the TTRPG Manifesto Jam and warning for the times

FREE YOUR THOUGHTS FROM CONFORMITY, YOU'LL FIND THOSE THAT WILL LOVE YOU AND YOUR RADICAL ACTS OF CREATION.

This jam is about TTRPGs.

This jam is about how uniform design conformity is going to have ill effects on your art. This jam is about how conformity kills creativity. The concept of "cringe" is slowly killing us. The concept of "a good minority" is killing us too. We need to imagine a world where we are free from the tyranny of the "Moral Majority". We must turn to ourselves, the odd ones, to keep our art, our games we love to create, alive in times like these. FROM MAX - CREATOR OF THE 2022 MANIFESTO JAM; "A manifesto lays out our intentions, vision and desires for our art form. It addresses where we are - and where we could be going. They are impractical tools, rhetorical and political - beautiful because of this. They cannot do anything on their own but - they kick down the door of our assumptions and makes a mess of the room."

A Manifesto is to help you, the writer, lead yourself and your art towards a state that you desire your art to live in. We must think beyond our world for a better one possible. This includes a place for our art to run, play, rest, comfort, love, disturb, disquiet, discomfort, and disgust. THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION! FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND ARTISTS OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE: CREATE THAT MANIFESTO. DO NOT LET IT GO UNWRITTEN. AND, IF THEY COME FOR YOU, WRITE IT HOWEVER YOU CAN AND MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO REMOVE. BE CRINGE. BE FREE.

Let the words others give life to give life to your mind in turn. From Em Reed - creator of the first manifesto jams Manifesto; "Whether positive or negative, whether embracing potential worlds or outright rejecting the one you’re in. They are visionary, they demand, they refuse. Manifestoes can be of any scale, defining your personal aesthetic or how to fix the entire world, but they cannot be satisfied."

This Manifesto Jam is holding hands and making out with The Faggot Games Jam hosted by Darling Demon Eclipse, author of Faggot Games: An Urgent Warning. 
While this jam is coordinated for the Faggot Games Jam, your entry doesn't need to be about Faggot Games. (My first one sure isn't!)

TTRPG MANIFESTO JAM RULES:

  1. NO AI! NONE!
  2. Write a manifesto! (or two! or even a game to go with it!)
  3. Upload it as a text file, pdf, png, mp3 or any other format.
  4. Add a title if you want.
  5. Submit the manifesto! (or how many you've written! or that game you may have written for it too!)
  6. NEW and UPDATED PROJECTS PREFERRED! If you're republishing, look back at that old manifesto and see if you still agree with yourself, and take the opportunity to update your work.
  7. Have ~*fun*~ :D .

MANIFESTO HELP (and some help from Max):

  • You can also find a list of art manifestos to explore here. (They are also below).
  • "This jam is about fueling your existing creativity, and practice - be that writing about games, making them or just liking them, and making it more accessible to people who have never really written on the topic before." - Max
  • "Write your manifesto from any perspective, from someone who makes games, someone who studies their history, critiques them, or simply enjoys playing them." - Max
  • Use the form you feel gets across your manifesto in the way you feel does it justice. (Plain text, cut out magazine letters, your own handwriting, a voice recording, playable, or something else?)
  • Any questions? Want a read over? Come join my Discord!

SOME GREAT EXAMPLES:

  • This Wikipedia page with many art movement manifestos.
  • Robert Yang videogame related manifestos compilation in this blog post.
  • Explore the first Manifesto Jam page here.
  • This Manifesto from the 2022 Manifesto Jam.
  • This Video by Amaan HK. Probably not intended to be a manifesto but I count it as one.
  • There are no right answers to or in a manifesto. There are no correct ways to write about, create, think about, or love art. Do what feels right. Do what makes you feel love for your art.



    This Jam would not exist without Darling Demon Eclipse and The Faggot Games: An Urgent Warning Essay, the first Manifesto Jam by Em Reed, and Manifesto Jam 2022 by Max -Thank you all so much!

    If you'd like to theme your Jam from the colors in the header, here is an image list and the HEX Codes!

    The Codes: #B6BBFC, #2B35A9, #12142C, #FFC87C, #8FD4E6, #2897F5, and #D0EDFF