itch.io

Hi, I'm the person running the jam! It's just me running this, and I do not personally have the time or energy to put a discord server together, so there will not be an official discord server for this jam. People are welcome to put together their own! It just won't be an official one

What is a content warning?  A content warning is a list of themes and topics a work includes which may be disturbing to some viewers. Content warnings are a safety tool that people use to be prepared for engaging with difficult or triggering topics. 

What should I list for content warnings?  Anything major that may be disturbing or upsetting to a viewer. This is a bit broad, but here are some of the most common content warnings: 

• Rape/sexual assault
• Bestiality
• Incest
• Pedophilia
• Ableism
• Transphobia
• Homophobia
• Racism (specifying targeted group if needed)
• Antisemisitsm
• Xenophobia
• Real world politics
• Slavery
• Genocide
• Abuse (Specify type: Child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, etc)
• Suicide
• Self harm
• Substance abuse
• Disordered eating
• Pregnancy/loss of pregnancy
• Child death
• Violence against children
• Pet/animal death
• Violence against animals
• Torture
• Body horror
• Extreme blood and gore
• Hand/eye/mouth trauma

There are more things you can also add, but these are the most common things warned for. 

Why wouldn’t someone want content warnings?  Content warnings have a complicated relationship with horror. Horror, by its nature, is meant to be disturbing, upsetting, and disgusting. Many people who engage with horror (as both writers and audience) find content warnings to be frustrating, as they can ruin some of the surprise and shock value in certain works of horror. In other cases, content warnings can spoil surprises or twists within a story. For this reason, many creators choose to have their content warnings placed in the back of the book or in their own special page in a game menu so that people can check them on their own terms without spoiling the story for everyone. Some people also make a general ‘Viewer Discretion is advised’ notice with directions to locate the content warnings if needed. 

How do I include content warnings?  There are several different ways to include content warnings, but the best practice is to have them somewhere easily accessible for those who need them, while having them not in the way for those who don’t want them. 

On your project page: 

If you want to list the content warnings directly: Within your project description, simply provide a bulleted list of themes that appear within your work. This list can be anywhere in your project description. 

Example: CONTENT WARNINGS

• Body horror
• Extreme gore
• Ableism
• Animal Death

Your list can be in any order you choose. Some people prefer to put them in alphabetical order or in some other kind of order, and some are in no order at all. 

If you do not want to list content warnings directly: Within your description, have a warning somewhere stating that the project is horror and includes dark themes. 

Example: This project is a work of horror and includes dark themes and topics. Viewer discretion is advised. 

In the work itself: 

If you want to be direct with your content warnings, you can put a list at the beginning of your book or as a splash screen at the start of your game. You can use the bullet point method, or have a paragraph explanation. 

If you want to be less direct, it again depends on what sort of project you are putting together. For a book, you can have the content warnings at the back of the book, with a note somewhere in the front stating they are available at the end if they are needed. You can also put a note on the table of contents as to where the content warnings are located.  For a game, you can have a special tab in the menu which lists the content warnings for people to check when they enter the game. 

Am I required to provide content warnings for the jam?  No, you are not, but they are highly encouraged. If you choose not to add them, please do have a ‘Viewer discretion is advised’ warning somewhere on your project page. They are not technically required for the bundle either, though there will be a preference towards works which have some amount of warning so that people know what they are getting into.

(Context: The use of the red cross in any context other than the actual Red Cross organization goes against the Geneva Convention, this is a thing that happens in a lot of games, it happened with Stardew Valley)

Currently playing this with my friends, but we did notice, Maddie's costume does technically violate the Geneva conventions... Just thought you should know <3 

Absolutely gorgeous, my friends and I have been going through the Fear & Fantasy submissions tonight for Halloween, and I think your is my favorite so far! Beautiful art with scenes that gave me genuine chills. Thank you so much for sharing <3

Very cool! I played for a bit but it did seem to get stuck after a while as I finished what seemed like a boss battle and then the map became stuck. But LOVE the aesthetic and concept, it is so interesting! Def interested in seeing more from this!

I'm the admin for the Fear & Fantasy jam, this game is delightful!! I'm so honored this was your first jam project, thank you for submitting, I really enjoyed playing it :)

Very fun little game, I really enjoyed playing in traffic, 10/10. Also the road kill looks great :3

Just finished reading it, AUGH it's so good!! Your art is so divine, thank you for submitting to the jam!!!!

YES!!!!! So excited for this :3

I just purchased a physical copy of this at Level One in Kansas City out of curiosity and was kind of blown away. I just played a quick game in my home to give it a try and would love to play the recommended way at some point. I'm really intrigued with the narrative I created, might make a little comic about it at some point. Anyway, just wanted to say, Wonderful game, I really enjoyed it  and can't wait to play it again!

lol, I actually had this game on my list of projects to reach out to about my bundle! Thanks for submitting your projects, I'm excited to check them out!!

Hi!II just played your demo and LOVE the aesthetic and narrative, I'll have to check out the final game when I get the chance! Twisted looks like it would be a great fit for a bundle I'm putting together of fantasy horror projects, If you're interested at all, feel free to apply with this link here https://forms.gle/BKtWGM4x26ACvFK58 :)

Hi! I have some of your drag and drop shops and my players love them! I haven't played this module, but it looks like it would be a great fit for a bundle I'm putting together of fantasy horror projects :D If you're interested at all, feel free to apply here https://forms.gle/BKtWGM4x26ACvFK58 (Also I know there's a bunch of bots dropping phishing links so feel free to check my page to make sure I'm a real person, I'm also running jam called fear and fantasy that has the same links and details)

Hey! I'm putting together a bundle of horror fantasy projects and I'm reaching out to my favorite Fear and Fantasy submissions to see if they'd like to join! You can apply with the link here if you're interested :) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTGQk4P2E8GLU5VKiMzRTKjgeOR_0YRx2TK2Q-... 

Oooooh this looks interesting! I gotta take a day to sit down and play all the cool rpgs people have been submitting!!

Got it! I'll check it out then :)

Was wanting to check out the game, but there doesn't seem to be a way to download or play it?

Such a fun comic!! I should look into the Polly Guo comics class, I've heard a lot of good things about it and all the comics I've seen from it have been so stunning!!

Very cool! I'm terrible at metroidvanias, but the aesthetic is gorgeous! Thank you for submitting!

Got to play it finally, what a cool project!! Thank you for submitting it to the jam, I really enjoyed playing the demo!!

Oh this looks so cool! Can't wait to give it a try!!

Been reading this and REALLY enjoy your comic style! I have a horror fantasy bundle coming up that I think this would fit really well in if you were interested in joining with this or any of your other projects! You can find the link here! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTGQk4P2E8GLU5VKiMzRTKjgeOR_0YRx2TK2Q-... 

Oh wow, this is really interesting! I can't wait to give it a try when I have time! Thank you for submiitting to the jam!!

ooooooooooh this looks so cool!! If you wanted to submit it for the bundle, I'd be happy to have it included :3 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTGQk4P2E8GLU5VKiMzRTKjgeOR_0YRx2TK2Q-... 

YOOOOO THIS IS SICK!!!! Such a cool submission!!!

Do you have any writing samples (esp scripts) or examples of finished projects you've worked on? I mostly write my own projects, but I've been considering working with a writer recently. And since my project for this had to be canned due to the nsfw ban, I was trying to come up with a new one. I might be interested if I can see your portfolio. You can see my work on my page. 

Oh this is EXTREMELY cool, I really like this a lot. 10/10!

This was delightful, thank you for sharing!

Hey folks, I've got some bad news. 

With the new update on NSFW content, I fear that this will have to become a no erotica allowed jam. A lot of projects already submitted to the bundle have been erotica projects or sexual in nature, but with the new rules and lack of clarity I think I will ultimately have to make that call. With that in mind,  I do have to put in place a list of no go topics from the ones that Itch now has listed. That includes 

• Non-consensual content (real or implied)
• Underage or “barely legal” themes
• Incest or pseudo-incest content
• Bestiality or animal-related (in a sexual context)
• Rape, coercion, or force-related
• Sex trafficking implications
• Revenge porn / voyeur / hidden cam
• Fetish involving bodily waste or extreme harm (e.g., “scat,” “vomit”)

This really sucks and I hate it. I actually have to scrap the project I had been working on for this because of the new changes. I still hope we can make some cool, crazy shit regardless of the new changes, but I'm very sorry about this. Anyone who's already submitted to the bundle, I'll probably be sending an email about it soon. 

Please keep making weird art. I want to see it. 

Thanks <3

Oh this looks so good! Very excited to read it :3

It is! I can't really code, so Renpy and twine are about the only things I can make games with lol

Update: Itch has changed their rules regarding adult content without notifying anyone. I'm again, not sure what this means for the Jam and bundle, but I'll be monitoring the situation and will update everyone once I understand what's going on. 

Hi, You're welcome to write a short story, but in the future you might make your own post about this instead of adding it to someone else's? Your questions doesn't have anything to do with this topic and also is answered in the main text of the jam. 

Hey folks, I'm monitoring the NSFW content situation and will do my best to keep people updated on what that means for this jam & bundle. I'm not sure how it will affect us yet, but I know a lot of the projects already submitted to the bundle side of things are/will be swept up in this mess. I'll be keeping an eye on things and will let folks know anything more as soon as I do. It's rough out there, but please keep making art. If you've got the gumption calling and making a fuss to the payment processors may help as well, but again, I'm just as blindsided and confused as everyone else. 

Thank you I'm really glad you enjoyed it :) And yeah, the RDR2 section was very much intentionally added. I thought about cutting it, but I liked how it played into the theme of the jam in all the ways you said, so I decided to leave it in lol. Thank you for your thoughts on my little project <3

Hi! There is not currently a discord server as I do not have the time to manage one myself, I believe people are sharing their usernames in the forums atm. If someone would like to make an unofficial discord server, I wouldn't be opposed, I just don't have time to manage it. 

Hi! I'm putting together a dark and horror fantasy bundle later this year if you'd be interested in joining. This is the submission link if you're interested: https://forms.gle/EkJVa9kZXbh9uuRz5  I really loved your comic, the aesthetic is so gorgeous, and I'd be happy to have it  in the bundle! :)