An open challenge to create a game focused on collectables in a week. All skill levels are welcome, from beginners to professionals. (Writing a blog or article about the jam? See the presskit here!)

Co-hosted by 8 Bits to Infinity, a game development community improving creative and technical skills through rapid iteration and honest, critical feedback, and Vimlark, a solo developer, YouTuber, and self-described game jam addict.

Join the 8 Bits to Infinity and Vimlark Discord servers and learn more about 8 Bits at our website. Get the latest jam updates on the 8 Bits to Infinity Twitter and follow Vimlark there as well.

Looking for tips on how to succeed at the jam? Check out Vimlark's YouTube channel and subscribe while you're there, or read (or listen to) the 8 Bits to Infinity articles on game jam success.

Need assets for the jam? Get free assets from the 8 Bits to Infinity Free Assets Collection.

TIME LIMIT 7 days

GOAL   Create a game focused on collectables

CHALLENGES See Challenges below for  extra, optional limitations

Results

Judges Choice results:

1. O'Sol by Golopogus
2. Hop Hop Minerby havana24
3. Chef Don'Gian by iNightfall

For Developers Choice results, see here.

Schedule

Jam Start Fri Sept 18, 2020 @ 1pm ET

Jam End / Judging Start Fri Sept 25, 2020 @ 1pm / 2pm ET

Judging End / Winners Announced Sun Oct 4, 2020 @ 1pm / 3pm ET

Stream Schedule (All times in ET / UTC -5)

• Friday, Sept 25 at 4pm ~ Vimlark
• Saturday, Sept 26 at 10am ~ Efmi
• Sunday, Sept 27 at 5am ~ Efmi  and at 10am ~ MrJoshuaMcLean
• Monday, Sept 28 at 10am ~ MrJoshuaMcLean and at 4pm ~ Vimlark
• Tuesday, Sept 29 at 10am ~ Efmi
• Wednesday, Sept 30 at 5am ~ Efmi and 10am ~ MrJoshuaMcLean
• Thursday, Oct 1 at 10am ~ MrJoshuaMcLean and at 4pm ~ Vimlark
• Friday, Oct 2 at 4pm ~ Vimlark

Important Rules

Entries which break these rules or have no clear relation to the Requirement (focus/limitation) will be removed without notification. If you want clarification on why your game was removed, please contact Joshua on Discord.

Main Rules

1. Solo or Team: Up to four members, one submission per team. If you're working solo, you count as a team. You may be on multiple teams (although we don't recommend it). All team members and entrants must be 13+ years old.
2. Submission: Answer all questions completely and honestly.
3. Accessibility:
   1. Must work in Windows 10. Web builds are fine.
   2. Any game-critical text must be in English.
   3. Cannot require unusual peripherals (allow keyboard and/or mouse controls).
4. Credit:
   1. Credit all assets in your game including CC0 assets and your own work (put your name (or handle or team name) on your game).
   2. Credits must be accessible from game start (title or credits screen).

Allowed

• General-purpose code, i.e. character controller, project template, menu functionality, AI library, etc.
• Freely available assets including open general-purpose source code.

Not Allowed

• NSFW content including but not limited to sexual content (including language), nudity, and excessive realistic gore/violence.
• Hateful content including any violence, threat of violence, or discrimination against other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.
• Political or religious themes. By "political" we mean any direct reference to real-world political parties, individuals, governments, or their ideals.
• Game code or custom assets made before the jam.

Requirement and Challenges

Make a game focused on collectables. 

This is the focus (limitation) for the jam. An entry must include collectables to qualify.

Collectables are anything you can collect. This could be:

• Coins or rupees as in any Mario or Zelda game
• Jiggies and Jinjos as in the Banjo series (or Pagies/Mollycools in Yooka-Laylee)
• Creatures as in the Pokemon series
• Party members as in RPGs like Suikoden, Final Fantasy, etc.
• Cards as in any CCG (Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Slay the Spire, etc.)

There are no limitations on tools, genre, or audiovisual style.

Want more restrictions on your jam experience? We will list three optional challenges here when the jam begins.

1. Theme Party: Use a theme and/or limitation from one of the past 8 Bits to Infinity jams in addition to the main theme
2. In a Song: The game is as long as a single backing music track
3. Hidden Secrets: Feature secret items, rooms, or features in the game (and include a way to find spoilers for these, on your game page or in the game package)

Ratings

Entrants rate games on the following criteria for Developers Choice, which also serve as a guideline to determine Judges Choice:

• Fun/Design: Enjoyment of the game. Are the mechanics interesting? Do I want to play more?
• Technical Implementation: Polish and complexity. Does the game push technical boundaries or have special tech to stand out? Are there few, if any, bugs and typos?
• Music/Sound: Audio presentation. How well does the music/sound fit the game? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Graphics/Animation: Visual presentation. How clean/consistent does it look? Are animations fluid? Is there clear understanding of color, contrast, and other visual skills? Max 4 stars if external assets used.
• Theme/Limitation: Implementation of jam theme and limitation. Is the theme prevalent? How unusual is the interpretation? How strictly does the game follow the requirement? Out-of-the-box thinking on the theme (not taking it literally) will score more points.

Prizes

Two prizes are awarded: Judges Choice and Developers Choice.

• Judges Choice will be chosen by a panel of judges with a variety of opinions about what constitutes a "good" prototype.
• Developers Choice will be chosen by rating games here on itch.io. If this is also the Judges Choice, the second-place game will win Developers Choice.

The winner of each receives the following:

• A feature on Vimlark's "best of the jam" YouTube video
• Priority feedback from Joshua on an updated version of your game with at least two weeks notice. The game will be streamed to completion (defined at Joshua's discretion).
• A special discord role in the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord server.

Each entry qualifies for one prize, regardless of how many members are on the team.

In addition, winners will be added to the list of 8 Bits to Infinity Jam Winners.

FAQ

What tools/engines can/should I use?
Use anything you like! We recommend a proper game engine to save time - something like Unity, Godot, Defold, Unreal, etc.

Not sure what to use? Ask on Discord or in the community. We have a lot of experienced members familiar with various tools.

I'm awful at music/art. How could I ever make a game? 
Our jams allow external assets credited appropriately. We insist you credit everything, even Creative Commons Zero or Public Domain. If you use external assets without credit, your game will be removed from the jam.

Find free assets on Open Game Art. Joshua also has free, royalty-free music packs.

I don't know how to program. Can I still make games?  
Absolutely! Many systems require minimal programming. The best way to learn is to get your feet wet, and a game jam is a wonderful no-risk way to try out new tech.

Am I required to use theme?  
Not technically, but it is a voting category, so you will score higher overall with a good use of the theme.

Should I build for Windows/Mac/Linux/web/[insert system here]? 
Yes! Build for as many systems as you can so more people can play your game. We recommend finding someone with the target system to test your build long before the jam ends so you can be sure it works.

I didn't finish. Should I submit?
Yes! Game jams are about creating prototypes. A finished game takes years. You can still win with a cool idea, even if the experience is brief.

How can I get more people to play my entry?  
Play games from the jam and on itch.io, leaving quality feedback. Ask the dev politely to play your game, so they know you're looking for feedback. There's also a new feature on itch.io that shows your entry when you comment on the game's jam page so be sure to do so there.

Can I make a multiplayer game? 
Yes, but we don't recommended it due to the extra difficulty giving feedback.

Can I make a 2D/2.5D/3D game?
Yep! There are no graphical limitations to this jam.

Can I enter other jams with the same game?
Absolutely, as long as you follow all rules and time limitations for each jam. Note we lock submissions, so you won't be able to upload new builds while this jam is being rated.

Where can I ask more questions?
Ask in the community for this jam (see link at the top of the page) or on the 8 Bits to Infinity Discord.