itch.io

Hi folks!

Just a piece of info on the logistics of the jam. I've scheduled a video to go live at 00:00 on August 1st. The video will have links to the Google Drive folder containing all of the songs plus additional files like lyrics etc. Please feel free to re-post those links here; I'm only using the video as a way of scheduling dropping the links. 

This game made me wish there was a writing category for voting, some of it was really LOL funny. 

I got an error saying it was already submitted on time; if you deprecate that version in some way and make a new one as a late submission I can manually authorize it by sending you a link.

if people add a build after the deadline, I can then generate a link to allow it to be submitted. I can't generate that link without a project to point it at though.

here's a late submission link for ya: https://itch.io/jam/403835/add-game/3521403/10959377?token=GfgYZYjDWPJeQYnNijIhS...

hey Blackmood - here's a link to let you submit it https://itch.io/jam/403835/add-game/3520701/10959377?token=flfBAI90wvqT73qLHt604...

That would be perfect if you could; the more of the story of the project which other entrants can see and learn from - the better! 

Hi folks;
I can see a few submissions are already in [woohoo!] but with a lot of them it's very difficult to understand the nature of the collaboration which took place. I would suggest that - if entries don't have a clear credits list or some sort of summary of how the collaboration worked - you skip them during voting. Please make sure your entries have credits on the main page. Thanks.

weed peter is my dawg but also i will never forgive him

Hey! If you look further down the list there are one or two people making art or other assets who have posted threads with no/low replies, worth checking in those.

Thanks Snekos! Adding to main Jam description now.

Yeah I'm not sure what happened with that link; it has zero to do with YouTube if you look at the URL. Very strange. Nonetheless, if you click GO TO SITE it'll take you to vote (we've had 300+ so far!)

Hi folks! Just dropping a quick FAQ to address some of the queries which have come up so far.

Q: Can new people join the team during the jam?
A: Absolutely. This is part of the joy of doing such a long jam; for example you can spend two weeks building a game, get it into a "showable" state, and then look for someone to do your audio. I wouldn't want to stop people from working in this way, because it replicates how larger games are usually made, with teams starting with core members and then adding extra people as a project grows.

Q: Can I contribute to multiple projects?
A: Yes. Obviously; don't stretch yourself too thin, but if you find you're best able to help developers in a "little here and there" way, then contributing to multiple projects might make a lot of sense. Examples of roles where contributors are often freelancers who just dip in and out of studios would include things like audio, copywriting, and key art [like title screens etc.]. There are lots of roles where it might make sense to contribute a small amount to multiple projects.

Q: Does every team member need to join itch, or just one project lead per team?
A: Whether all of your contributors have their own itch accounts which are directly linked to the project by them is really up to you. If a contributor is coming in from another field like art or audio, then having their own account for this one project might be overkill.

Q: How should team members be credited?
A: Every project will need to properly credit its contributors in the itch page (it's nice to do it in the game as well, if you can, but we understand that there isn't always time to add another screen). Do what works best for your specific team formation, and remember that every game here is an opportunity for that person to be found by other people who might want to collaborate with them later on. For people who are very game-focused, they will probably use their itch.io page as their dev/design portfolio, and appreciate having it linked. For someone coming from an audio or art background, they might appreciate your game's page having a hyperlink to their website/portfolio/linktree etc. instead.

Q: Can we use asset packs for art, audio or other content?
A: Yes. Please remember to credit the original creators as per their requests. However, these creators will not count toward your Team Size count.

Q: When the jam is over, how will rating work?
A: Voters must rate a random set of entries before they can rate any specific entry. There are three voting criteria; best use of the theme for gameplay, best use of the theme for theme (setting/character etc.), and the holistic "I want to play this as a full game" award. There's also a separate manually-ranked award for the team with the most contributors (because this wouldn't be a CollabJam be without it).

Q: Are the games going to be streamed on the IGC YouTube channel?
A: I intend to stream some of the games in the gap between the end of the jam and the end of voting. If there are 50 or less entries, then this will be more than manageable. If we get more than that, then God help me, I will do my best. I'll also be watching the #igclinicjam25 hashtag on Bluesky (I'm no longer on TwiX) and sharing some of the cool stuff going on throughout the month.

The previous poll was open, meaning you could see the results-so-far before voting, which felt a bit unfair. There is a clear leader theme so far, but a few of you have also expressed issues with the "not the main character" theme as it implies a game with characters (I'm not totally convinced of this, you can have a game with inferred characters who you do not represent onscreen). Nevertheless, I've set up a NEW and FINAL poll for the game jam, and results on this one will be hidden until the start of the game jam on April 1st. I've included the two most popular answers from the previous poll, one which is a differently worded variation on "you are not the main character", and a wildcard.

Please cast your vote here: https://strawpoll.com/e2naXRYOpyB

This is such a cool backstory haha! I am still a numetal kid at heart. 

Hi folks,

One of our YouTube commenters left a really good list of "beginning of collaboration" questions on one of the CollabJam promotional videos, so I wanted to give them a shout-out and post them here for you to look at and possibly use:

1. What can I do? [Skills and Abilities]

2. Who would I like to focus on? [something you already know how to do, or developing a weaker area?]

3. What can't I do?

4. What don't I care about - i.e. other people can have "full reign" over?

5. What is my time commitment to this project?

6. What kind of games do I like? What genres or game types do I enjoy playing or working on, or would like to try making?