Get ready to bring your game creation skills to the next level with the University of Southern California's Online High School Game Jam. This jam is the perfect opportunity to unleash your imagination, challenge yourself, and learn about the exciting world of game design. In addition, if you ever decide to apply to the USC Games school, your game jam submission would also fulfill the creative portfolio requirement to apply to our undergraduate program. The Princeton Review has ranked USC the #1 Game Design school in North America every year since its ranking system began in 2009!

Theme: Embracing the Unknown

The theme for the jam is Embracing the Unknown. This theme is all about pushing your creative boundaries, venturing into uncharted territories, and facing the unknown with courage and curiosity.

"Embracing the Unknown" invites you to explore new concepts, experiment with unconventional gameplay mechanics, and tell captivating stories that challenge players to confront the unfamiliar.

Rules

• Participants must be high school students
• Teams are allowed, but each team member must register individually and one team member must be designated as the team captain who will interact with us.
• All game assets (apart from those that are publicly available online) must be created within seven days from April 16 at 12 pm PST to April 30, 6pm PST.  Pre-planning and brainstorming is allowed before April 16.
• All games must be original and cannot have been published elsewhere
• Participants must follow the theme, which will be announced at the start of the jam
• Participants must comply with Itch.io’s community guidelines

See the FAQ for more details.

Prize Pool

The top games will receive USC online store gift cards!

First Place: $100 USC online store gift card

Second Place: $50 USC online store gift card

Runner Ups (3): $25 USC online store gift card

Voting

All submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges from USC Games and Industry Professionals. The winning games will be selected based on creativity, execution, and gameplay

Schedule & Timeline

April 16th

• Theme announcement and kick-off event will be held at 12:00 PM PST. Details will follow.
• Game Jam starts at 6:00 PM (noon) PST

April 16th to April 30th

• Participants are encouraged to share updates, ask for help, and connect with others in the game jam community through the designated channels on Itch.io

April 30th

• Participants must submit their completed games by 6:00 PM PST
• Participants must complete all registration for the game jam, but submit one game.

May 1st to 5th

• Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges from USC Games
• Finalists will be notified via email and announced on the game jam website

May 5th

• Awards ceremony will be held at 6:00 PM PST, where the prize winning games will be announced

Staying Safe Online

At USC Games, we prioritize the safety and well-being of all participants in our game jam. We strongly advise participants to not share any personal or identifying information online, including full names, addresses, phone numbers, or social media handles. If you or someone you know experiences any inappropriate behavior or feels unsafe during the game jam, please report it immediately to the USC Games or Itch.io staff. Together, we can ensure a positive and safe experience for all participants.

SUMMER GAME DESIGN PROGRAM @ USC

Are you at least 16 years old and want a head start on your journey into game development? You can earn college credit at USC’s summer program for high school students. Apply for Foundations of Games Design and join our class this summer!

About USC Games

Recognized as one of the top game design programs in North America by the Princeton Review, USC Games represents an exciting collaboration between the School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media & Games Division and the Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science. Incorporating elements of design, artistry, production and engineering, USC Games offers an utterly unique educational experience for students, and serves as the launching pad for them to play significant roles in the game design field. With rigorous, hands-on instruction from master designers, producers, engineers, and working professionals in the industry; students have an unprecedented level of opportunity to delve into every aspect of creating games for a global audience. 

By participating in this game jam, you will have the opportunity to not only explore your creativity and challenge yourself, but also showcase your skills and potentially start your journey towards becoming a part of the USC Games community. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Resources

To help you get started and make the most out of the USC Games High School Game Jam, we've put together some resources you may choose to use. These links are just for your consideration and you are welcome to use any tools available to you.

Unity Tutorials:

• Introduction to Unity: https://unity.com/learn/tutorials/s/introduction-to-unity
• Getting Started with Unity: https://unity.com/learn/tutorials/s/getting-started-with-unity
• 2D Game Development with Unity: https://unity.com/learn/tutorials/s/2d-game-development-with-unity
• 3D Game Development with Unity: https://unity.com/learn/tutorials/s/3d-game-development-with-unity

Unreal Tutorials:

• Unreal Engine Fundamentals: https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/GettingStarted/index.html
• Blueprint Visual Scripting: https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/Engine/Blueprints/index.html
• Creating Your First Game: https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/Engine/Basics/index.html

Godot Tutorials:

• Godot Engine Documentation: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.3/index.html
• Godot Quick Start Guide: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.3/getting_started/index.html
• Godot Tutorial Series: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.3/getting_started/step_by_step/index.html

GameMaker Tutorials:

• GameMaker Studio 2 Getting Started: https://docs2.yoyogames.com/source/dadiospice/002_using%20gamemaker/index.html
• GameMaker Studio 2 Tutorials: https://docs2.yoyogames.com/source/dadiospice/005_tutorial_index/index.html
• Making Your First Game: https://docs2.yoyogames.com/source/dadiospice/001_getting_started/getting_starte...

Other Assets:

• If this is your first Game Jam, take a look here: https://myfirstgamejam.tumblr.com/resources
• Unity Asset Store: A huge library of assets and tools to help you build your game. https://assetstore.unity.com/
• Open Game Art: A great resource for free game art and music assets. http://opengameart.org/
• Free Sound: A collection of royalty-free sound effects and music for your games. http://freesound.org/

For more information, please visit our FAQ: USC Game Jam FAQ