Hello all, this is #FFSjam 2020 and everyone is welcome! The rules are explained on the main jam page, but here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. If your question isn't covered then please ask below.
Why did you decide to host this jam? We ran the first FFSjam in January 2017, and the follow ups in 2018 & 2019, and everything went pretty well those events. The original reason we started it, is because we find game jams are one of the only things that gets us motivated to actually finish something. We had a few prototypes and half-started games that had been hanging around for years, and we knew we wanted to submit them to a game jam, but we don't like breaking the rules. Most jams require you to come up with something new based on a theme, so submitting our existing ideas never seemed right. After a few years of looking round for a jam like this, in the end we gave up and decided to just start it ourselves
When is the deadline for the jam? In the first year we stopped exactly at the end of January, but last time around we have added a few extra days to ensure the jam finished over a weekend. We'll be doing that again, to give everybody one final Saturday to get things finished off. So the deadline this time around is 23:00 GMT on the 2nd February.
Is it OK if my game is mostly finished? Yes that's absolutely fine, one of the purposes of this jam is to help get you over the line on a long running project
Does that mean I can't start a new game for the jam? Not at all, the other purpose of this jam is to help you finish a game if you've never managed it. It's no problem if you want to start a new project or redo an old one from scratch
Can I just finish an Alpha or prototype? Yes, the final product can be whatever you want it to be. If you find it helpful to use the jam to create a prototype then that still counts as finishing something! Alphas, prototypes and demos are all welcome. You can also take a previous Alpha and work on it again to move it to Beta stage.
Can I charge for my game? Yes you can, you can utilise any of itch.io's existing functionality so paid game can be submitted. It would be great if you would consider submitted a demo or small slice of the project for free so everyone can try it, or perhaps a discount for other FFS jammers, but that is not a requirement.
Does my project have to be a game? No, you can submit anything you want, such as a tool, screensaver or interactive art piece.
Is there a Discord channel? Yes there is! Permanent invite link is here: HERE
What's the best way to find a team? You can use the Crowdforge page we set up HERE, you can ask here on the community, or you can chat to some people in the Discord channel (invite HERE). The choice is yours, but if you're serious about collaborating then the Crowdforge page might be best, as the site was set up to help connect teams.
Can I continue working on my game after the deadline? Yes absolutely, feel free to use this jam as a starting point for something even better. Just post a demo or a alpha to the jam and then carry on improving it.
Can I used royalty free or creative commons assets? Yes you can, as long as you have the right to use something then that's fine. Just be sure to credit the original creator if they have requested it. There are a lot of Google results for free assets, but some good places to start might be FreeSound.org and OpenGameArt.org
Do I own all rights to my game or project? Yes completely. Neither itch.io nor any game jam host has any rights to your project, you are 100% the owner and always will be. This is confirmed in itch.io's Creator FAQ Here.
Will there be a ratings phase? Yes. Although the idea of one particular game 'winning' the jam doesn't really make sense, we thought it would be good if you could get feedback on your projects. This is good for both very long running projects and new game devs who complete their first game. There will be ratings for Fun, Visuals, Audio, Mood and Innovation.
The jam seems very relaxed, are there any rules? This is a mostly an 'anything goes' jam. One thing that is not really in the spirit of the jam is to submit a 100% completed game that didn't need any extra work, but even then you may have finished the game very recently, so we're taking a very relaxed attitude to things.
Are there any plans to repeat this jam in the future? Yes! We had this question last year, and said as long as a reasonable number of people were interested and submitted game, then we would keep repeating it, and here we are! We will do it next again January if people continue to find it useful.
How do I share my progress? You can post here on the community to share your screenshots and progress. You can join the chat on Discord and put updates in the progress channel (invite HERE). Or you can also use the hashtag #FFSjam to share updates on Twitter. Feel free to follow the @FFSjam Twitter account, which will be retweeting updates throughout the jam.
Do you have Tiny URLs? Why yes, we do have Tiny URLs! Look how tiny they are:
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2020main
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2020faq
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2020collab
https://tinyurl.com/ffs2020share