A bunch of companies worldwide are asking employees to exclusively  Work From Home (WFH), so as long as you're stuck inside, why not make a game?  And if you're making a game, why not help people maintain human connections while they're indoors, too? 

What do I do?

Make a game/experience/interactive art piece that helps people connect with others without leaving the house.

When should I do it??

It's unclear how long WFH will be required for many people, so there's a large submission window from March 16th through April 19th.  Feel free to submit a game at any time during that period: given the nature of these games, it's encouraged to submit before the deadline to (1) get playtest feedback & patch updates, and (2) provide that human interaction everyone will be craving!

So I gotta do a giant MMORPG with voice and text chat?!?

Not at all! Games don't need to be synchronous, support large gatherings, or provide traditional communication methods. Here's some prompts for inspiration:

• How might you create a game that takes place in a group chat between friends?
• How might you create a tabletop game that everyone plays remotely with their own materials?
• How might a game require asynchronous collaboration between players who never interact at the same time?
• How might you use location data to help someone stay connected to actual local businesses?
• How might you create a game with puzzles so hard players will need to discuss on Discord to solve them?

A few examples of games that connect people in interesting ways: Kind Words, The Castle Doctrine, Fez's black monolith, Say the Same Thing

Okay, so what are the rules?

There are minimal rules, but a few general requests:

• Don't submit a game that doesn't follow the theme (facilitating human connection).
• You can reuse art, code, or other resources from previous projects, just don't submit anything not created specifically for this jam.
• You can work by yourself or with a team (and if your team is all remote, write a post about what that was like!)
• No games that promote hatred, bigotry, or violence against groups or real-world individuals.

What if I want bonus challenges?!

Totally not required, but here's additional inspiration:

• Make a kind game. (No violence.)
• Make a game for kids to play with their parents.
• Make a game without written language.
• Make a game that takes place over 24 hours.
• Make a game that helps people move their bodies. 

Get in touch!

Connect with other jammers, share progress, find playtesters, and beat the WFH blues in the jam discord: https://discord.gg/gsDAg8K