Xanrean Autonomous Sim Jam (XASJ)

Make agents that actually do things.

The Problem

You know what's exhausting? Scripted NPCs standing in the same spot for 300 hours saying "I used to be an adventurer like you." Characters following waypoints like brain dead tourists. Quest givers who exist solely to dump exposition and wait for you to click through dialogue trees.

Doesn't that sound like fun? no? Good! then this is where you fight back!

What XASJ Is About

The best games don't tell you stories. They create conditions for stories to emerge. RimWorld's colonists fall in love, have mental breaks, and eat without legs. Dwarf Fortress dwarves throw tantrums when you forget to build a tavern. Dungeon Keeper minions get hungry, wander off to eat chickens, and come back refreshed.

That's what we want.

XASJ celebrates games where NPCs have goals, pursue them autonomously, and create chaos you didn't script. No cutscenes. No dialogue trees. Just systems interacting in ways that surprise even you.

What We're Looking For

Build a game where characters:

• Have internal state: needs, desires, moods, goals
• Make decisions based on context, not predetermined scripts
• Create emergent moments through interaction
• Act like they have a life beyond serving the player

Examples of actual autonomy:

• Villager gets hungry → seeks food → eats → mood improves → works faster
• Goblin wants gold → scouts caravan → recruits allies → attacks → flees when outmatched
• Merchant seeks profit → travels trade routes → buys low → sells high → gets robbed → adapts strategy

If your "AI" is just if this then that, don't submit.

Judging Criteria

Judged by: Xanmal (Nekojin Interactive LLC) Honorary Judges: Tama & Saki (Xanrean Chronicles)

Agent Autonomy (40%) Do your NPCs have agency or are they just executing scripts? Can they prioritize between competing goals? Do they make decisions or just follow flowcharts?

Emergent Complexity (30%) Do agent interactions create unexpected outcomes? Can players observe stories forming that you didn't explicitly program? Does your simulation surprise you?

Technical Implementation (30%) Does it actually work? Is performance acceptable? Can players experience your vision without fighting bugs?

Prize Pool: $100

• 1st Place: $60
• 2nd Place: $25
• 3rd Place: $15

Paid via PayPal within 30 days of results.

Rules (Read These or Get Disqualified)

Allowed:

• Unity or Godot only (show us you can actually code)
• Any AI architecture: state machines, behavior trees, utility AI, GOAP, custom systems, blood magic.. maybe not the blood magic... yet.
• Teams of any size
• Pre-made assets (disclose them in your dev log or we'll assume you're lying)
• External libraries and plugins

Banned Forever:

• Horror games. All of them. Psychological, survival, cosmic, atmospheric, "it's not horror it's just dark." We don't care. No. If we feel a chill run down our spines. It's scary and its banned.
• RPG Maker or template engines (if you can't code, learn)
• Games based on Nekojin IP (Xanrean Chronicles, Autumn's Dungeoneering). Make your own thing.
• AI-generated code without disclosure. We can tell. Don't test us.

Required Submissions:

• Build for Windows, Linux, macOS, or browser
• Dev log explaining your autonomous systems (we want to know how it works, not just that it works)

Timeline

• Submissions Open: May 1, 2026
• Submissions Close: August 1, 2026 (11:59 PM UTC)
• Judging: August 1-31, 2026
• Results: September 1, 2026

Why 3 Months?

Because building autonomous systems isn't something you hackathon in 48 hours. Good AI takes time to design, implement, test, break, fix, and polish.

If you want a weekend jam, go elsewhere. If you want time to build something that actually works, you've got three months. Use them.

The Judge

Xanmal is the founder of Nekojin Interactive LLC, developer of Autumn's Dungeoneering, and author of the Xanrean Chronicles light novel series. They've spent 8+ months building autonomous AI systems for their own game and have strong opinions about what "autonomous" actually means.

Tama and Saki are honorary judges, mascots, and moral support. They will not be reviewing your code. They are fictional adventurers. If this bothers you, you're taking this too seriously.

All decisions are final. Detailed feedback will be provided on submission pages. If you want to argue about scores, go write a blog post.

Philosophy (Or: Why This Jam Exists)

We're tired of itch.io being 90% low-effort horror games. We're tired of NPCs that exist solely to dispense quests. We're tired of "AI" that's just random.choice(['wave', 'idle', 'walk_in_circle']).

The games we love (RimWorld, Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi, Dungeon Keeper) succeed because their characters feel alive. They have goals. They make mistakes. They create stories we couldn't have scripted if we tried.

XASJ exists to celebrate that design philosophy and fund developers who share it.

This isn't a traditional game jam. It's a curated showcase for systemic design. Standards are high. Judging is rigorous. If you're ready to build systems that breathe, we want to see your work.

If you're here to submit "Spooky Hallway Simulator #4,723," save us both the time.

FAQ (Actually Useful Edition)

Q: Do I need to use advanced AI like Utility AI or GOAP? A: No. Use whatever architecture creates autonomous behavior. State machines with priority systems can work. Behavior trees can work. Weighted decision tables can work. Show us emergent gameplay however you choose.

Q: Can I submit a game I started before the jam? A: Yes, but your autonomous systems must be developed during the jam period (May-August 2026). Disclose what existed before in your dev log. If you lie, we'll figure it out.

Q: Why is horror banned? A: Because horror dominates itch.io and prioritizes shock value over systemic depth. XASJ focuses on simulation and emergence. If your game is "creepy but not horror," it's still banned. Don't test this boundary.

Q: What if I have technical issues during submission? A: Contact the host before the deadline. "My dog ate my build" is not a valid excuse.

Q: Can I get feedback even if I don't win? A: Yes. All submissions get detailed evaluation on their submission pages. Expect honest, technical feedback on what worked and what didn't. The feedback might be ran through generative AI to make sure it is clean and precise, but all opinions and critique will be fully form the judge.

Q: What about games with combat? Isn't that "horror-adjacent"? A: Combat is fine. Violence is fine. Dark themes are fine. Horror as a genre is banned. If your primary goal is to scare players, you're in the wrong jam.

Q: Can I use ChatGPT/Copilot/AI tools? A: For boilerplate code, documentation, debugging: fine. For core game logic: disclose it. If your entire codebase is AI-generated, you're not learning anything and you won't win.

Code of Conduct

• Public complaints about judging = disqualification from future XASJ events
• Concerns about evaluation? DM the host. Don't post rants on Reddit.
• Be respectful in community discussions or get banned
• Cheating, plagiarism, or harassment = permanent ban from all future XASJ iterations

XASJ is funded personally by Nekojin Interactive as a passion project. This is the inaugural event. If it succeeds, expect bigger prizes and expanded scope in future iterations. If it fails, we'll have learned something and moved on.

Join XASJ. Make agents that matter.

"Note from organizer: 

I'm autistic and have aphantasia (can't visualize images). 

This means I'm excellent at systems architecture but terrible at art/animation. 

I may come across as overly technical or defensive - that's anxiety, not arrogance. 

I promise fair judging based on the stated criteria."

#XASJ #AutonomousAI #EmergentGameplay #NoMoreHorrorGames