Note: to take part in this jam you don't have to wait until it starts, you may start making your z-fighting game now or at any point in time until the submission period is over (December 15th).
TLDR: you are supposed to come up with a single game mechanic that could be described as "z-fighting" and submit your game until 15th December, there is a modest gift card award and a Unity plugin license.
Z-what?
Welcome! Ok, here is the story. Today, I ran into a post titled "ZFighter" that went on about "z-fighting" while showing a confusing video of some in-game 3D graphics. I sat there baffled for a while, trying to figure out what this new game mechanic called "z-fighting" is.
As it turned out, the post was not about any game mechanic but was really about a graphical glitch when two planes are occupying the same space and therefore "fighting" each frame over which of the two textures will be rendered, manifesting as flickering textures. Shame on me for not figuring that out sooner after all these years of using 3D graphics.
However, this unusual path of thinking has led me into a one-off game jam idea, and that's where you come in!
What am I supposed to do?
Your goal in this jam is to invent brand new game mechanic(s) that could be called "z-fighting". This game could be of any genre, as long as it incorporates the "z-style of fighting". What the "z-fighting" could be is entirely up to you!
Something to do with the depth? Something that simply involves 3rd axis in a 2D game? Something that uses shape of letter Z? Or involves something that starts with letter Z? Or perhaps actually relies on the graphical glitch of the same name? Or something that no one else could think of but you? It doesn't even have to include violence, as we can interpret "fighting" as simply "to compete" or "to struggle". The possibilities are z-limited!
In other words, imagine an alternate reality in which a well-known game mechanic (or sub-genre) called z-fighting exists, and it is up to you to invent and implement it.
Nice, when does it start?
Since the jam's "theme" is already known, it makes no sense to demand your game to be made strictly during jam days. Therefore, you can (and should) start making your game now, and treat the jam's start and end date (December 12th - 15th) as just a submission window.
Any tips?
Please note, you are not expected to spend all the available days polishing the game. Spend as little time as you want, the important thing here is to demonstrate your take on the z-fighting mechanic. The rest of the game could be highly unpolished and unfinished slice, as long as your new mechanic is shown clearly. Do not get lost in the story, graphics, menus, all these things are nice to have, but it is your unique new mechanic that is at the focus in this jam.
Rules?
- Your game must include z-fighting, whatever that means for you
- Your game must not use AI-generated assets (visuals, audio, writing); you may use external assets that you are legally allowed to use
- Teams are allowed, but only the uploader will be allowed to rate other games (sorry, complication due to existence of award)
- You may not use a project that you started making before you found out about the jam (however, you may start making the project before the jam starts)
- You should not modify your game after submission period ends, unless to fix a bug which destroys the game's experience completely
- Your game must not be offensive or contain hate speech
- If you must make NSFW game, make this very clear in title and description
- Please play and rate some games during the rating period, whenever possible try to leave feedback in comments, this is what jamming is all about!
- The jam host has rights to interfere with results when there is evidence of cheating, and disqualify entries for any reason whatsoever
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Rating criteria?
You and other contestants will be able to rate the games on the following criteria:
Z-mechanic zity - how much "z" the mechanic is
Z-mechanic Originality - how ground-breaking your new mechanic is
Z-mechanic Fun - how much fun it was to play with it
Z-mechanic Polish - how smooth and well-rounded the implementation is
Overall - how good the game is in general, considering all other factors
Hope you'll join and have fun, looking forward to play your games!
Wait, do I get something if I win?
As it turns out, the winner will get not one but two awards.
Award #1: A modest prize just to aid the fun. The winner (*) will get 50 EUR worth Steam Gift Card (**)
* If the winner is more than one person, some sort of splitting can be arranged; if the winner is jam host, the next highest-rated entry will receive the award
** Replaceable by some other gift of equal or less value, if the winner so wishes
Award #2: As it happened, the authors of ZFighter plugin (who are also authors of the post that inadvertently inspired me to make this jam) have noticed this jam and will sponsor it with one license for their ZFighter plugin for Unity (*). It is a newly published plugin which seems to be doing something really useful and is gaining a decent amount of traction already: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/utilities/zfighter-296702
* If the winner is someone with no interest in Unity engine they can choose to pass this award to the next jammer on the scoreboard.
Additional note: Sadly, the letter "Z" and "fighting" can also bring associations with the invasion of Ukraine. Keep in mind that "Z" applies to gameplay and not the story. But if you really wish to make a game about the war in Ukranie, please keep it respectful towards real people who are suffering in this conflict. My hope is that we can take the letter Z back from the aggressors who appropriated it and not allow this unwanted association to take further root.
Image credit: banner "art" by me