TURBO MAKES GAMES DOTS JAM 1

For this jam, participants will be tasked with creating a game using Unity's Data-Oriented Technology Stack and their Entity Component System. Unity DOTS enables users to push the bounds of what is possible in the engine allowing for large numbers of dynamic entities, complex simulation logic, and dynamic game architecture. During this 10-day jam that spans two weekends, you'll be tasked with creating a game using Unity DOTS and ECS.

THEME

"Stuck in a Simulation"

SUBMISSION

• All submissions are due on Sunday July 14th at 11:59PM PDT
• At the submission time, all submissions will be locked for modification until the end of the voting period, so ensure everything is exactly as you want it to well before the deadline!
• During submission, you'll be asked to write 1-3 paragraphs about how you used DOTS in your project, so be sure to allocate some time for that

JUDGING

• Only participants who submitted a game will be permitted to vote
• The judging period lasts through the end of the month (July) and winners will be revealed on The Hot Path Show on August 2nd
• Games will be judged based on the following criteria:
  • Usage of DOTS - how well did this game use DOTS? Was the developer able to implement interesting gameplay mechanics or technical simulation by using DOTS
  • Gameplay - how well did the developer execute on the task of creating a fun and compelling game? Regardless of technical achievement, is this a game you would want to continue playing or see developed further?
  • Aesthetics - how well did the developer craft a coherent style for the game? Haphazardly used asset packs could score low here, while well thought out programmer art could score well
  • Theme - how well does this game implement the jam theme? Is the theme implemented in a clever or unique way? Does the game offer an interesting perspective on the theme? Does it just fit the theme perfectly?
• Itch.io will automatically average the scores of each category to determine the overall score

RULES

• Solo Participants Only! - The intended purpose of this jam is to encourage learning and exploration of Unity DOTS. While we strongly encourage communication between participants during the jam to help with learning and coming up with solutions, ultimately only one individual should be committing code and game assets to the final product.
• Use Unity DOTS and ECS - The core of your game should be developed using Unity's Data-Oriented Technology Stack and their Entity Component System.
• All code should be written during the jam and open sourced - while I do love assets like Agents Navigation, I'd rather you implement your own pathfinding from scratch that anyone can view to see how you set it up. I will allow the use of certain 3rd party open source libraries such as the Latios Framework or Tertle's BovineLabs Core because I think this jam could give you an opportunity to experiment with them if you haven't used them before. If you have any questions, just ask!
• Use any art assets you have the legal right to - this is a technical focused jam, so now is the time to finally use all those Asset Store packs you've been hoarding away (don't forget to exclude them from your public repo!!)
• Don't make anything that will get you (or me) in trouble. I'll be featuring many submissions on my YouTube channel, so feel free to have fun, be creative, and make something weird, but just use your best judgement to not cross any lines. The goal with this jam is to make something technically impressive, not something provocative for the sake of being provocative

OTHER

I (Johnny) will be playing some of your game submissions on a livestream during the judging period. To guarantee I play your game on stream, you can support us via Patreon or YouTube Memberships at the L1 Cache tier or higher. We greatly appreciate any financial support you are able and willing to give 😀