FusionJam is a short jam designed to encourage participants to set aside a little time to do something new and innovative. Running from Friday to Sunday, FusionJam is designed to be attractive to both hobbyists and professionals. We all have something to learn and something to add to this innovation mixer.  Whether you have a few hours or a whole (long) weekend, FusionJam is perfect for you.  

The focus is on trying out new ideas and seeing how they play, making it an ideal event for testing mechanics, art, VFX, SFX, music, or any other aspect of game development. Ideally you will be learning something new along the way.

Participants must build their submissions during the jam, but they can use content that has previously been created for another game. That is, reuse is allowed, even encouraged, but the final submission must be something new. This makes FusionJam ideal for testing out new ideas and refining existing ones.

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Here are some examples of what you might do in FusionJam:

• Mechanic Madness: Create and test a single game mechanic to see how it plays.
• Scene Sprint: Build and polish a single game scene to learn how to create immersive environments.
• SoundScape Jam: Integrate a single music track into gameplay to test its impact on the player's experience.
• Pixel Perfection: Design and refine pixel art assets to enhance the visual appeal of your game.
• Script Sprint: Write and optimize game scripts to improve performance and functionality.
• Level Lab: Design and test a single game level to ensure it offers the right balance of challenge and fun.
• UI/UX Uproar: Create and refine user interfaces and experiences to make your game more intuitive and enjoyable.

FusionJam welcomes the use of any game engine and any assets for which the submitter has a license. We recognize the value of generative AI in rapidly developing and testing ideas, and its use is permitted.

Constraints and Themes

One of the biggest drivers for innovation and learning are constraints. For this reason, all submissions must define the constraints within which they were developed. Participants can define their own constraints (see below), or they can adopt the constraints defined by the FusionJam team. Participants are free to mix and match between provided constraints and their own.

The constraints will come in the following from:

• Inspiration - a single game, book, place, movie, building, story, song, effect or other inspiration that sparks the idea for the submission
• Mechanic  - a single gameplay mechanic that will be used in the game, such as jumping, flying, healing, crafting, resting, exploring etc.
• Location - a single scene location within which the submission will take place, e.g. an airport, hospital, family home, dungeon, alien planet
• Objective - a single objective that the player is to achieve within the submission, such as find the widgets, heal the animal, cast the spell, open the chest, defeat the enemy, grow the plant

For example, the constraints might be:

• Inspiration: Unpacking
• Mechanic: Object examination
• Location: Hospital
• Objective: Cure the patient

We will also provide a theme for those who want to work within it. As with the constraints all submissions must define their theme, but you are not required to stick to the theme FusionJam provides - that is for those who want to work within an additional beautiful constraint.

Ranking

This is a ranked jam but the ranks and feedback will not be public, only submitters will be able to see their rankings. This is because this Jam is not a competition, it is a shared learning and innovating environment. Ranking is useful because it helps submitters learn how to improve the idea. All submitters and FusionJam organizers are strongly encouraged to rank as many submissions as they can.

Join FusionJam and unleash your creativity! 🎮✨

FusionJam Rules

Constraints and theme: All submissions must define the constraints and theme they are working against.

• Submission Requirements: Submissions must be built during the jam period, which runs from Friday to Sunday. However, participants are allowed to use content that has previously been created for another game, as long as the final submission is something new. Reuse is allowed but the final submission must be innovative and fresh.
• Late submissions: This is a ranked jam, with the goal of giving submitters feedback on their ideas. Late submissions will be accepted, but we cannot guarantee they will receive feedback.
• Time Commitment: FusionJam is designed to be a short jam, encouraging participants to set aside a little time to do something new. Whether you have a few hours or the entire weekend, the focus is on making space for exploration and creativity. There is no minimum time, the maximum time is 72 hours (from 8AM UTC on Friday to 8AM UTC on Monday)
• Tools and Assets: Participants are welcome to use any game engine and any assets for which they have a license. We recognize the value of generative AI in rapidly developing and testing ideas, and its use is permitted.
• Submission Guidelines: All submissions must be uploaded to itch.io and must be executable without additional configuration steps. Ensure that your submission includes a summary of what you were trying to test or learn, identify the constraints and theme adopted and provide a brief description of what you aimed to achieve. It would be awesome if you shared a little about what you learned along the way too - share the learning.
• Community and Support: FusionJam encourages a supportive and collaborative environment. Share your progress, ask for feedback, and help others in the community. This is a space for learning and growth. Join us on Discord.
• Feedback: While FusionJam is primarily focused on innovation and experimentation, there may be opportunities for participants to receive feedback from peers and judges. The emphasis is on constructive feedback to help you refine your ideas.

FusionJam and unleash your creativity! 🎮✨