itch.io

We got your message, and will be following up in a couple of days. Thanks for the patience!

Hey, since we couldn't find a better way to contact you, posting here! Please email edward-d@gotchagotcha.jp to discuss claiming your prize. Again, congrats on a job well done! 

Unfortunately, the hyperlink in the jam email for the participation prize is incorrect. However, the text URL is correct if you copy and paste it into your browser.

Due to some server delays on Itch.io’s end, we’re currently unable to send a follow-up email with the corrected link. In the meantime, here’s the correct link to download the bonus battle track:
https://ggg-gamejam.itch.io/rpgm-2025-jam-battle-track

DECCI absolutely blew away our expectations! It’s genuinely impressive what you managed to pull off without plugins and in just four days no less. You definitely earned that 3rd place spot. Huge congrats and we’re excited to see what you make next!

The RPG Maker 2025 Game Jam received an incredible 286 submissions, far surpassing our expectations! With such a huge turnout, we put a two-round judging system in place to ensure every game had a fair shot: 

• Round 1: Each entry was randomly assigned to two judges, who scored them using the jam’s judging criteria (100-point scale). 
• Round 2: The top 50 highest-scoring entries from Round 1 advanced to Round 2, where they were evaluated by the full panel of judges. 

This scoring system wasn’t perfect, but it allowed us to balance fairness and workload. Every game got at least two perspectives, and we made sure different tastes and styles were reflected by having a diverse judging panel of respected community members. 

Check out the full scoring sheet here: RPGM Game Jam 2025 - Final Scores & Rankings

One important note: because Round 2 games were scored by more judges, the average scores don't always perfectly align with the rankings. Rankings reflect our final evaluations after both rounds. 

Yes the scores and rankings will be shared publicly. We should hopefully have those posted soon.

We'll have more details on how we'll be distributing the participation prize to entrants in the next few days! Thanks for your patience.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s jam! The wait is finally over—check out the winners, special awards, and judge favorites here: https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-2025-game-jam

There were so many incredible entries this year that narrowing down the winners was no easy task. If your game didn’t make the final list, don’t be discouraged. Just finishing and submitting a game is something to be proud of!

We also want to acknowledge the inconvenience caused by entries being locked during the extended judging period. We really appreciate your patience and will be re-evaluating how we handle that in future events.

We’ll be sharing prize details very soon so stay tuned!

The winners have been announced on the jam page: https://itch.io/jam/rpg-maker-2025-game-jam

Thanks for the clarification. While the effect does sound very close to the original, we'll take your word for it given that it was sourced from a royalty-free site and it would be difficult to prove it's the same.

Thanks for submitting your entry! While playing through the game, judges noticed a sound effect that sounds identical to the Sonic ring sound:

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to a crash occurring within the first 10 minutes of gameplay. We encourage you to keep developing and refining your project!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to a soft-lock occurring within the first 10 minutes of gameplay. We encourage you to keep developing and refining your project!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified because it appears development began before the official start of the jam period. To ensure a fair competition, all entries must be created within the jam's designated timeframe.

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified as it was not written in English. As stated in the jam rules, all entries must be primarily in English so they can be fairly evaluated by all judges. I do applaud the effort it must have taken to translate the game into Middle English by hand. I would suggest adding an option to switch languages in the future, or perhaps  display the Middle English on top and translation below!

Thanks for your submission. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified because it requires the RTP files to run and is not immediately playable out of the box. The game itself must be fully self-contained and launchable without requiring additional installations.

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to a soft lock occurring within the first 10 minutes of gameplay. We encourage you to keep developing and refining your project!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified as it won't install properly. That said, we encourage you to keep working on your project!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to a crash occurring within the first 10 minutes of gameplay. We encourage you to keep developing and refining your project!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

We’ve traditionally not disclosed which entries make it to the second round to keep voting fair and focused. We’re keeping the game files locked so that other entrants can continue to play each game as it was originally submitted for the jam. However, if you’d like to share an updated version you’re welcome to add a link to an external project file (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive) on your game page.

Appreciate the feedback and we’ll definitely take this into consideration for future events!

Round 2 has begun but we won’t be making any announcements or unlocking any entries until the voting period is complete. Thanks for your patience!

In our evaluations, one of our judges had issues trying to play the game with a controller. They were unable to jump but were able to climb which bugged out the game. We also found pressing up right after the opening cutscene put the player into a bugged state where they will climb up and be able to move on the X axis in the air.

Yes you're allowed to post dev logs.

Due to the large number of entries, we’re extending the voting period to June 16, 2025 JST. This extra time will ensure our judges have ample opportunity to thoroughly evaluate all submissions without needing to rush the process. Entrant voting will also be extended to the same date, giving participants more time to explore and rate each other’s games. Winners will be announced shortly after voting concludes.

Thanks for submitting your game to the jam. Unfortunately, we have to disqualify your entry as it doesn’t meet one of the core rules: entries must be started after the jam began. Your entry cannot be a segment of a larger project that was already in production. While we appreciate the effort you put into polishing it, the jam is intended to encourage new creations within the event timeframe.

Thanks for submitting your game. It looks like this may have been one of your first game jams, and we appreciate you putting your work out there. I played for about 10 minutes: explored the protagonist’s house, made it through a cave, activated an orb (though I wasn’t sure what it did), and went over a waterfall, but couldn’t progress beyond that point. There wasn't enough content to provide a fair evaluation, but we hope you keep working on your project and developing your skills!

Thanks for submitting your game. Unfortunately, your entry has been disqualified due to its very short length. There isn't enough content for us to fairly evaluate it based on our judging criteria. That said, it's a great start and we encourage you to keep building on it!

Just to confirm, we've received your project and it's been distributed to the judges!

Thanks for submitting your game. We were really impressed by the custom art, battle system, and overall presentation; it truly went beyond expectations in those areas! We unfortunately have to disqualify it due to the game's very short length. The experience was just too brief for us to fairly evaluate it within the judging criteria.

That said, the project is incredibly promising, and we’d love to see you keep developing it. You've clearly built a strong foundation with a lot of care and talent, and we hope to see more of it in the future!

That is really unfortunate! I’ll definitely make a note to warn participants about the “remove unused files” option if we host another jam. It’s an easy mistake to make.