itch.io

Technically, that wouldn't really be allowed because the assets should have either come from public resources or made for this jam - not come from previous games.

Then it's perfectly fine!

This jam entry is currently disqualified from the Fighting Game Jam for not having a Windows version nor a download link. It will be requalified later if the above is provided.

Entry currently disqualified for only being available on Android and not having any download links.

Hi, is this empty submission meant to lock the name and upload a build later?

Not a problem. Just be sure it can also support keyboard controls in case of need.

One can use x360ce in case they have an old DirectInput controller, so I think it's okay. 

Hi, host of the fighting game jam here!

Android games that can only be played on a phone and games lacking a local versus mode against another human player are in general not eligible for the jam.

Is there a download link anywhere to check it out? Will it be added later?

Will you update the game to support Windows and add a local versus mode against another human player? If this isn't the case, I will have to DQ it.

Thank you in advance for your collaboration!

Android games that can only be played on a phone and games lacking a local versus mode against another human player are not eligible for the jam. 

Will you update the game to support Windows and add a local versus mode against another human player?

Thank you in advance!

Oooh! Honestly I didn't think of it, when I drew that cutscene. Might have been convergent evolution!

I don't know, I haven't based her on anything or anyone from my other project🤔

Collaborations during this jam should not be commercial or paid. If you take part in this jam, you are supposed to cooperate with other people, not to sell your services. That would fit a commercial endeavor better. Since this is basically advertisement, this post will be removed.

Patrick Miller interviewed the organizer of the jam (cough) about it. You can find his article here:

https://bsky.app/profile/pattheflip.bsky.social/post/3mic46zxeuk2j

https://www.patreon.com/posts/inside-fighting-154249454

The game must support local versus mode and accept at least two players. Local coop and single player only do not abide by the rules.

There's a rule about "requiring real time interactions" for this first jam, so YOMI Hustle is *technically out of scope.

There's a limit to what judges can do, but this doesn't mean we won't try to enforce the rules.

As an example for what regards assets: if the submitter has a social media presence, a YouTube account and/or previous games where the model/sprite/music was used, we might find out rather easily. AI-generated art is also (still) pretty easy to spot.

For what regards AI coding: If e.g. the submitter is a staunch online AI advocate and has devlogs about vibe coding other games, we would double check them before allowing the game to be graded.

We can't read minds but we can make reasonable efforts to ensure a fair competition. This doesn't prevent people from cheating and we are aware of it, but it doesn't mean we don't have to try.

Of course we expect most participants to play fair, since there is no money involved nor a prize. If a breach is discovered retroactively, the game will be removed from the jam and publicly retracted. The indie developer community around fighting games is very small: being exposed for cheating in a jam where most of these devs are taking part in would put the transgressor in a bad position, career-wise.

I recognize the lecturer's name, he might be the developer of Tough Love Arena and Scramble Heart City! 

After consultations with other members, I'll say that controller support is preferred but, as long as the game has local versus keyboard support, it's sufficient.

All of the judges know how to use AntiMicroX, so you should be fine. Just be sure to note this down on the game's page, once you submit!

Which engine are you using? Is split keyboard an option for two players?

Controller support is indeed a hard requirement because many people can't play fighting games on keyboard and because ghosting makes split keyboard multiplayer a giant mess. 

The only way out I can see is to provide an alternative by bundling a well known third party tool, such as AntiMicroX or Joy2Key.

Here's a list of frequently answered questions that were asked in the dedicated channel of the Indie FGC Dev Discord server. It will be updated whenever a new frequent question arises.

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Q: Can I use characters I have designed before this jam for my jam game?

A: Yes, as long as you don't use any old art of them in your jam game. All art and assets (e.g. sprites and/or 3D models) portraying that character must be made from scratch for this jam

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Q: I won't use generative AI in my jam game, but I vibe coded some of the development tools. Is this allowed?

A: No. We have a blanket ban on generative AI for this jam, AI tools for coding included. If you take part in the jam, please abstain from using tools you have vibe coded and/or written with assitance from AI coding tools. This includes any usage of Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude Code and similar AI "vibe coding" tools.

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Q: Can I receive help from people that haven't signed up for the jam on itch.io?

A: Only one member for each team is required to sign up via itch.io to submit the game. As long as every other member of the team is credited on the game's page and that they started working on the assets after the jam began, it's fine to work with other offline or online people that haven't officially signed up for the jam.

Seems fine to me, with the adjustment you suggested. The jam would require two characters, but worst case scenario the second can be a palette swap of the first with slightly altered moveset.

Yes, old character designs are perfectly okay if no old art is used for the jam game and you are the original creator of them.

As for the SFW rule: the game should be such that one should be able to play it in front of teens without raising too many eyebrows. Some of DoA5's DLC costumes (e.g. the topless flower garland) would be too risky for this jam, but if you hover around ~DoA2/DoA Dimensions designs, I think it should be fine. In case of doubts, feel free to link one design you want to ask about and I will discuss it with the other judges.

Not necessarily! The game needs to be a 1v1 symmetric versus game playable on a single display whose goal is to "KO" the opponent - or equivalent win condition, for any definition of the term (e.g. ring out). This still includes arena fighters, platform fighters, theoretically even 1v1 top down shooters, as long as they abide by the general definition above. Something like Duelists of Eden, Acceleration of Suguri and Senko no Ronde would still be acceptable entries, for example!

For transparency's sake and to be open with all participants, I will outline the judge guidelines in this post.

Jury

The jury is composed by eight members at the time of writing this post:

• Andrea "Jens" Demetrio (organizer, developer of Schwarzerblitz, Motionsickness, Exploding Judo Federation)
• Pxn. (developer of Knockout: Archetype False)
• Mr. MKL (niche fighting game streamer, organizer of the Indie Gallery at EVO Las Vegas 2025)
• Doctor Butler (kusoge enthusiast, host of two Fraud Krew Versus Jams for fighting games)
• Syrkle (doujin fighter connoisseur, writing the Onicchi Center blog)
• J. Comet Bravo/GamersGoin'Blind (indie fighting game enthusiast playing all subgenres)
• Mattrified (developer of Battle High, MerFight and HAFO)
• Vankil (lead of Son Studios, developing Saturday AM: Battle Manga and Netcode Warriors)

Scoring 

Itch.io allows judges to vote on  different categories for each game with a grade from 1 to 5 after the jam ends. The voting period lasts for one month. The scored categories are currently

• Fun factor (main, tie breaker)
• Adherence to the theme
• Game Feel
• Innovation
• Character design
• Presentation (Graphics and Audio)
• Features

Featured/favorite game

If possible, each judge will be asked to write a short paragraph about their absolute favorite game(s) in the jam, which will be used during the jam roundup.

Streaming and sharing

During the voting period, judges will be allowed to stream the games, write about the games, feature them in any way they like without any restriction.

Conflict of interest 

Judges are required not to take part in the jam. If they take part in the jam, they will be removed from the judging panel as soon as they submit a game. Judges are still allowed to create free asset packs that all participants can use, provided they are released on itch before March 31.

The theme of the jam is currently only known to the main organizer, who will not share it with the judges until March 31 to avoid issues in case they decide to take part in the jam.

The main organizer is not allowed to take part in the jam in any way, except by providing asset packs before the jam starts, as noted above. 

It's perfectly allowed! "Knockout" was used here as a more general term, but "blasting the opponent out of the stage to knock them out" works too!

(using my personal account to answer, I am one of the organizers).

Workshop in ExploJudo? Troppo complicato per i potenzialo modder, i modelli di ExploJudo hanno un sistema di textures più incasinato rispetto a quelle di Schwarzerblitz ed è troppo semplice fare mosse che non funzionano o si rompono. Codificare prese nuove è un mezzo casino se uno non sa come fare. Nel senso, in principio potrei, ma non penso che funzionerebbe bene.

Riguardo al tema di GGTS ("Scherzo for Eyepatch and Vespa"), potrei caricarlo più avanti😁

Oof, è una domanda molto difficile da rispondere, quindi inizio con GGTS e RR: la risposta è "forse" per RR e "no" per GGTS :') difficile per me tornare a lavorare su progetti vecchi, ma RR ha un po' di potenziale che voglio ancora esplorare.

Per quanto riguarda il mio personaggio preferito, la lista dei papabili è enorme. Credo che se iniziassi a contarli tutti, sarebbe uno sforzo titanico.

Posso dirti che Veckert è chiaramente una dei miei preferiti in assoluto, senza se e senza ma. Cyphr, Shaz, Lejl, Johnson e Krave sono poco sotto, poi ci sono Nadia, EiN, Lucia, Reno Gattonero, Mr. Daevka, Silman... ugh la lista non finirebbe mai. Troppi personaggi che adoro :')

Alcuni sono più semplici da scrivere di altri, ma quasi tutti sono divertenti da riversare su carta (digitale). H.H. Boost per esempio è un personaggio che adoro scrivere anche se lo trovo difficile da apprezzare. Chai, INABA e Red sono altri tre personaggi che si scrivono praticamente da soli. 

Ora sto scrivendo una storia che ha come protagonista Renne (la Rhea del mondo di SCHWB) e un caso per il dipartimento ROPES, non so quando sarà pubblicata perché sono giusto ancora a metà (30 pagine finora) :')

Ti ringrazio per aver letto tutto! Beyond Schwarzerblitz va ancora avanti, sto scrivendo altri racconti :)

Final Barion in 8CSG+ ha un trucco per batterlo, hai bisogno di usare Two Tails su Zareh per farla agire prima di Void Scream, ma adesso non ne hai più bisogno 🤣

Il nome della versione alternativa di Bree è volutamente non rivelato un po' come un inside joke.

Il mondo di 8CSG+ e quello di Schwarzerblitz esistono contemporaneamente, ma quale sia la loro relazione è una cosa che non voglio proprio spiegare. Entrambi sono veri e reali in qualche modo e nessuno dei due lo è esattamente. Il finale di Barion in ExploJudo si svolge dopo l'epilogo di 8CSG+, tra parentesi. 

Riguardo a Veckert e EiN... Veckert doveva originariamente far parte del cast di SCHWB, ma non ho mai trovato un moveset per lei - non è proprio una combattente. EiN avrebbe funzionato molto meglio e ha rischiato di essere aggiunto tre volte🤣

Great! Thanks for the clarification, that helps a lot! Then, crossing fingers for the upcoming Kickstarter!🙌

No chaingear costumes, sorry :') too much work for a boss character.

For the guest: they are from an indie game with no direct fighting involved, from developers that are NOT in my usual circle😆

Thanks a lot for answering!

I wasn't aware Steam users could still activate codes for restricted games in Germany. If that's the case, it should be fine at least for the Kickstarter backers! 

Just one more question: from what I understood, the gameplay part of the game is mostly safe for work/showcase e.g. at local tourneys and the explicit scenes are only presented in story mode. Is that correct?

In any case, good luck with the Kickstarter launch! I am honestly very curious to try the game out!

Indeed, and the only reason is because you asked for it😄