An Idle Thumbs community game jam. Community involvement and encouraging people to try their hand at making a game are key components.

More info here: https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/forum/42-wizard-...

And here's a list of the potential Diversifiers people used to shape their jam games...

• Mainstream Thumbs - Use an episode title from the Idle Thumbs podcast.
• When the Thumbs are not enough - Use an episode title from a non Idle Thumbs network podcast.
• Game Ideas from the Cast - Realise a game idea/joke that has appeared in an episode
• Idol Thumbs - A past or present thumbs presenter is your player character.
• Could you repeat that? - Have a character in your game use famous Thumbs quotes in regular dialogue like a real slyboots.

• One of These Things is Not Like the Other - Ask another jammer to draw a sprite/make a model for your game without showing them the art style of your game. Include this in your game without comment.
• Wizard Jam Shared Cinematic Universe - Place a small in-game cameo or reference to another game participating in the jam. This could be something like placing a character from another game into your game somehow, or using some art from another game as a billboard sign in your game etc.
  • WJSCU Sub-versifier: Building A Legacy - use a recognizable asset from a previous wizard jam - this could be from one of your games or from someone elses if you ask nicely enough! (Bonus points for loving tributes to everyone's favorite yellow gourmand - Dot Gobbler.)
• Wrong Thread - Base your game on an Idle Forums thread title

• Dishonored Holidays - tis the season! make a game about winter holidays, Dishonored, or ideally both. Corvo's Carve That Turkey Challenge, anyone?
• Box art - Make a still image to be the 'box art' for your game. Do you remember physical retail? (Bonus points if it's off-style for the actual game, and misrepresents the spirit of the game [see Mega Man 1 & 2 for reference])
• Super Briefly - Right when you think the game is over, a super-brief mini-game kicks in. Or it's all mini-games. Just do it fast!
• Learn by doing - Make a game with no explicit instructions or tutorial, but that the player can still learn by playing through it.
  • Learn By Doing Sub-Versifier: No Dialog - No written words at all, even tutorials must be pictographs
• Ludo-Narrative Dissonance - Make the theme and presentation of your game completely at odds with the moment-to-moment gameplay. Bonus points for not just being "normal game protagonist is secretly mass murderer"
• From the horse's mouth - Include some kind of developer commentary in your game. This can be an optional secondary mode after the player completes it or something tied more closely to the narrative a la The Magic Circle.
• Uncle Who Still Works at Nintendo - Your game has a bizarre cheat code or secret that no-one will believe is real, but it definitely is; my uncle who still works at Nintendo told me about it. Whatever you do, don't post about this secret on your own thread. You may help spread rumors however...
• Nice Segue - Don't just cut from level to level. Wipe that sucker! Add transitions that are interesting, stylish, and ideally fit the mood and look of your game. Look at Blendo Games' first-person work, where the hard cuts are strong narrative and stylistic choices that evoke a cinematic or dreamlike feeling in the player.
• Game Development 100% Internalized - Stream your game-making adventures. This can be art asset creation, coding, or even your team design meetings!