I feel like there should be stricter guidelines against submitting games that are not yet in a playable state. There are multiple submissions from last year that were submitted like this and are still unplayable.
I don't have much of a problem with it given it's not a ranked jam, as long as it's stated that it's not in a playable state. I'd *hope* that it would get updated after the fact but it can't be guaranteed. If it gets people to make games and update them later, I'd rather have the unfinished ones than have someone not participate and improve their skills at all.
I think they're referring to the 'game' that was a literal PNG with a 'game coming soonTM' and STILL IS, and I'm very with TuxedoedPenguin's reasoning on that one.
If a game - or at least a tech prototype even - can't be submitted within the timeframe of the jam, then it genuinely undermines the whole reason and function of the jam, ranked or not, and should be promptly disqualified at the jam's end. At that point it's rather a hobby product they can release on their own, rather than abusing the jam for free publicity.
I can fully see both sides of the argument. But in my mind, as a consumer of those games and not someone who makes them, i think that even if there is nothing playable yet, it is fair game to still participate. Sure, it is a bit disappointing if the concept sounds fun but the game maybe never gets made. But instead of seeing it as "free publicity" for the creator, i see it as an opportunity to find other games from a creator who might make stuff i could be interested in. Of course only if they actually stuck to the theme in the first place. People who just post their game to every running jam no matter the themes or rules do not deserve the attention.
But there's the problem. If there's nothing, they never make anything, and they don't have anything, all they get is a lot of disappointed views on their page. Instead of us not giving them attention, they should instead not be given the chance of receiving the attention, no?
What's the point of the deadline if you're just gonna leave a 'I promise I will make something later, just trust me bro', or indirectly advertise your other projects? Isn't the whole point of it to have something to show for it, EVEN if its just a tiny proof of concept tech demo? It all just feels like it defeats the purpose, you know.
If that was TF Hotline I completely agree with you and I've already taken it down. It was way over-scope, and I did try finishing it, but just couldn't. I didn't think about how people might be waiting for it, so I've gone and removed the page. Hopefully I'll finish the one I'm working on this time so there'll actually be something to play :v If there isn't, there won't be a submission.
Realistically if I hadn't been working something since the last jam, I probably wouldn't have anything to post this year. I don't believe I could actually make something in the span of a month, due to irl obligations.
With the way the entire internet is right now, I think submitting anything and being upfront about it's completion is the way to go. For me itch has been down for the past couple days because of a ddos attack I believe.(https://bsky.app/profile/itch.io/post/3m3bphhzco223)
This jam still is not a given for the community. This can still not happen because of everything going on. We should share while we can just to stick to our theme. We don't know how bad censorship is going to get.