Participate in a week-long competition to make your best pride-themed games.  The theme of the jam will be announced at the start of the jam. Any type of game is welcome (including board/card games), the only restriction is that they cannot be offensive or inappropriate.  We will also be hosting game development workshops and a live stream to help people make their games. 

GAMES MUST RUN ON WINDOWS

THEME ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Interpret this theme however you wish. Want to make a rainbow-themed party game? Go for it. Want to re-create the infamous rainbow road? Absolutely fine. Want to turn your favorite game into a nauseating rainbow monstrosity? Sounds amazing. Even if you don't want to make it rainbow-themed at all, we just want to see what your creativity comes up with.  

What is a game jam? 

A game jam is a competition where you are asked to create a game in a short period of time. Any type of game (including video games, text-based games, board games, and pen and paper or even yard games)  is welcome, and the only limit is time and creativity. To help guide you in making your games, we will announce a theme for the jam at the start of the competition (Friday at 2 pm). You do not have to make a game based on this theme, but it may be helpful to generate ideas.  

When is the game jam? 

You can submit your project anytime between Friday, April 30th at 2 PM and Friday, May 7th at 11:59 PM. The theme for the game will be revealed on Friday, both on the itch.io page and over email. 

Do I have to work by myself? 

No. You can work in as large of a group as you like. 

I don’t know how to make a game, can I participate? 

Yes. We will be hosting a workshop on  Monday, May 3rd where you can learn the basics of the Unity game engine. I will also be live on zoom all day Saturday (May 1st) creating my game, so feel free to stop in and ask questions. For those with less experience in programming, we will also have a Python Collab notebook available teaching how to make a tic-tac-toe game and asteroids. 

There are also several ways you can make a game without having to code. Make text-based games using software such as as https://textadventures.co.uk/ or http://www.brasslantern.org/beginners/beginnersguide.html. Or you can make a board or other type of physical game just using text and/or image files. The emphasis is the process of creating something new, so don’t be afraid to try something you have never done before.  

The game I made isn’t very good, should I submit it anyway? 

Absolutely! The point of game jams isn’t to make high quality games, it is to practice skills and generate ideas. The expectations for submitted games is very low, and anything you are able to come with by the end of the week should be submitted. 

How do I join? 

You first need to have an itch.io account, which you can create for free on the itch site (itch.io). Once you have created your account, go to the game jam page https://itch.io/jam/union-game-jam and hit join. Once the game jam starts (5 PM on Friday) who will be able to submit your project. 

How do I submit my project? 

On the itch site, create a new project. Here you will be able to put in information about your game like name and description. Here is also where you will upload your game. If you have a url to access your game, you can put this in the description of your game. Otherwise, you should upload the game files under the uploads tab. Make sure that people can download and play your game on Windows (you can provide other compatibilities also).  If you have a webGL file you will have the option for people to play your game on the itch site.

You can make a board/pen and paper game also, just make sure to include all the materials in your itch page that are necessary to play the game. 

Once your project page is complete, you can go back to the game jam page (https://itch.io/jam/union-game-jam) and submit it. You will be able to make any changes to your project page until the deadline (11:59 PM on Sunday). 

How will winners be chosen? 

After the end of the jam, there will be a one-week voting period, where anyone can play the games submitted and vote on them. These ratings will determine your rank which will be announced at the end of the voting period. 

What can I use to create my game? 

You can use any game development platform you are comfortable with. Some common ones are Unity, Real Engine, and Godot. You can even use Scratch, as long as you provide a link to your project in your description. 

You can upload pure code files, but this is not recommended as not everyone will be able to download and play your game. If you want to use Python, something like https://trinket.io/features/python3 can let you upload code online and send an url for people to play. 

You also can use whatever assets (art, code, music) you have the legal right to use for your game. Don’t hesitate to reuse code that you wrote before, or to get art and sound from outside sources. 

Where can I find assets for my game?  

If you use the Unity engine, the Unity Asset store is a great resource for finding assets to use for your game. 

Other places to look at are: 

https://www.gameart2d.com/freebies.html 

https://opengameart.org/ 

https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/collections/video-game-music 

Any other questions? 

Feel free to reach out to Fiona Shyne at shynef@union.edu, or post a question to our community page(https://itch.io/jam/union-game-jam/community)