itch.io

Nice!

yes. as long as you've worked on them further during the jam, that's totally fine, and you can keep working on them in future jams too

It works for me, are you using the link on the current jam?

this jam doesn't is non-competitive and doesn't have winners

This is a really cool mechanic. Saw the first level and did not predict how many attempts it would take!

Thank you!! This should be fixed now. The link is https://discord.gg/9ae5XCxYNe

Please let me know if it still doesn't work!

the page isn't viewable, do you need to make it public?

incroyable! vraiment cool

There is now a server for the jam community. Join at https://discord.gg/sgA6NvTa

The server is very basic for now! I will be adding to it!

There is now a discord server for the jam community.

Join at https://discord.gg/sgA6NvTa

The server is very basic for now! I will be adding to it!

Hi, I'm a professional musician with a degree in music, and can do music if anyone still needs a composer! I play classical piano, am experienced with synths and production, and can work quickly when needed.

Here are two examples of my work (in the video the music starts 15 seconds in):

https://soundcloud.com/orlando-shamlou/the-penultimate-dragon

Yup feel free! I plan to make the server for anyone working on a portfolio, even if they're not entering the jams so you'll be welcome beyond this week if this is your only pb jam!

Hi everyone! Jam #43 starts in a few hours.

First, an announcement: I'll be making a discord server - finally - for the jams sometime this week! I'll post a link in this community and on the jam page.

This week's optional theme is 'Costume'.

Use it if you want to, or continue using the theme from a previous week, or don't use the theme at all!

Please read the rules before submitting.

Hope you all have a good week!

I'll be making a server this week so check back and I'll link it when it's ready!

Hey! Jam #42 starts in a few hours. This week's optional theme is 'Obsolete'.

Use it if you want to, or continue using the theme from a previous week, or don't use the theme at all!

Please read the rules before submitting.

Hope you all have a good week!

Hey everyone! Jam #41 is starting in a few hours. The theme announcement is 'Rebellion'.

Please read the rules before submitting.

Have a good week!

Jam #40 starts in a few hours! This week's optional theme is 'Limitless'.

I hope this new community is useful. Please do provide any feedback!

Please read the rules before submitting.

Multiple submissions is fine (unless it's obviously spam - 2 is totally fine). Incomplete games are also fine. But you must have worked on both of them during the week of the jam. Something already published is ok as long as you have worked on it this week (fixed something, added a feature, etc.).

I deleted some of your post because it was inappropriate.

Itch shows when games were uploaded and when they were last updated, which is how people submit older games they have worked on during the jam, which is allowed. However submitting games that have been submitted to a bunch of other jams is not allowed - please read the rules before submitting.

You can also use a devlog to log updates you make.

Awesome!!

Welcome to this week's jam!

The optional theme is 'Egg'. Use it if you would like, work without a theme, or continue with a theme from a previous jam.

I have made a page to act as a hub for the jams at https://orlandoo.itch.io/portfolio-builders-jams

This is mainly so there can be one community for all the jams. I've not disabled the community for this week's jam, so you can continue to use it, but next week the jam itself won't have a community and it will move over to the hub.

Let me know any questions or suggestions for that!

I know a discord server is another option. The main reason I haven't made one is the extra time it would need for moderation, as I would still want people to be able to post somewhere if they don't have discord. I haven't ruled it out as an option for the future.

That's it I think, so enjoy the jam! Please read the rules before submitting.

Have a good week!

This is an initial guide and will be expanded in the future!

Please note that I do not work in the game industry and this is not a guide on how to get a job. My background is in other areas and I do have experience making portfolios.

What your portfolio should be like will depend at least on these two things:

• What its purpose is
• What skills you are showcasing

Purpose

Think about what your portfolio is for, if you haven't already. Some reasons for making a portfolio might be:

• To get a job, linking to your portfolio in your applications
• To get clients, if you work freelance or have a company
• To find professional collaborators
• To find collaborators in jams
• To support applications to study, for example for an undergraduate degree or other course
• To support applications for funding
• To show friends and family
• For your own satisfaction

If you are aiming to attract clients, you probably want to show your most polished work. If you are looking for employment, this might not be the case. Unfinished projects can still be attractive, as can projects that focus on a specific skill (such as programming) and are lacking in other areas (e.g. using placeholder art, or uninteresting game mechanics). You will still want to focus on your best pieces, rather than everything you've ever made.

I can't cover every case, or how to get a job in every industry, so do your own research! My main point is if you haven't given any thought to what your portfolio should be like, please do!

Skills

Do think about how your projects show the skills you want to demonstrate. This sounds very obvious, but be aware there are ways to show specific skills without making a full game! If you're spending most of your time struggling with programming, but you're really only looking for jobs in game design, there may be more efficient ways to use your time!

There may be certain conventions for how portfolios are presented. For example, sound design reels are generally 1-3 minutes long (approximately - people give slightly different figures). Research this yourself!

As well as the main skills you are demonstrating (such as programming, game design, voice acting, etc.), your portfolio can also show:

• Passion for specific skills
• Passion for games in general
• Attention to detail
  
• Ability to work in a team
  
• Proactivity
• Commitment to learning
• Your personality and style
• Your politics and values

Think about what other skills are important to you, and how your portfolio reflects that. People might read your commit messages or comments on a pull request to look at your communication. You might have written beautiful code for your game, but it will look unprofessional if the description on your itch page is full of typos.

Presentation

It's a good idea to keep all your portfolio pieces in one place - or at least link to them from one place. If your pieces are all over the place, e.g. you did the soundtrack for a game on itch, music for a video on youtube, and have some tracks on SoundCloud, you could list and link to them on one web page. This is especially useful if you are aiming to present your best work to get a job rather than everything you've ever done, e.g. if you are looking for work or to find clients. It could still be useful to post your work elsewhere, if it didn't make the cut. You might add your best pieces to your portfolio, and post your other pieces on Instagram or LinkedIn.

For something more casual, such as finding collaborators for jams, this doesn't matter so much. Even having a single project you can link to or a few posts on a social media page is much better than having nothing at all.

Resources

I will be adding links to guides to help you with portfolios in specific areas. Feel free to link to other resources in the comments!

Here are a couple of videos for now, both from Tim Cain:

Games Industry (all roles)

Game Designer

Updates will go here!

The themes for the jams will be announced here, usually on the morning of or the night before the jam. Sometimes life happens, so if ever the announcement is delayed, please be patient!

I will link to the previous jams here (TODO)

Post your goals for the week, or reflect on how the week has gone, if you would like to!

Optional of course, but it can be helpful to have your goals written down to stay motivated.

Post here to find people to work with in the jams!

It's not particularly enforceable. Given that this is a casual jam, and not e.g. an academic certification or a jam with cash prizes, that doesn't really bother me. However the rule is there and on the stricter side because people do sometimes make it clear how they've used AI. The rule is there so it can be referred to when necessary.

As for why, I'm not really up for debating that, beyond making a few points: Gen AI largely lacks transparency, and intentionally so. Gen AI has a huge carbon footprint. Gen AI steals from creatives. Some gen AI companies also provide AI to the military to enable genocide. Using AI in any capacity normalises and contributes to that.

I have considered improving the wording of the rule, but it's very low on my list of priorities.

A place to post your goals for the week, or reflect on how the week has gone, if you would like to!

Hi all,

Welcome to this week's jam!

The optional theme is 'The Four Seasons'. Use it if you like, but feel free to work without a theme, or to continue with a theme from a previous week.

One week soon I'll be making a page with a community to act as a single hub for the jams, so they can all be in the same place and not week by week. Let me know if you have any suggestions for it.

Please read the rules before submitting.

Have a good week!

A place to post your goals for the week or reflect on how the week has gone, if you would like to!

Hi all,

Welcome to this week's jam which starts shortly!

This week's optional theme is 'Grain'. Use it if you like, continue with a theme from a previous week, or work without a theme!

In the next few weeks I'll be making a hub for the jam on itch.io to keep the community in one place from jam to jam. Please let me know if you have anything you'd like to see there.

Please read the rules before submitting.

Thank you, have a good week!!

Orlando

A place to post your goals for the week, or reflect on how your week has gone, should you so wish! (optional)

Hi everyone!

Welcome to this week's jam which starts in a few hours!

This week's optional theme is 'Dumpling'. Feel free to use it, to continue with a previous week's theme, or to use no theme at all!

In the next couple of weeks I'll be making an itch page to act as a 'hub' for the jams, so the community can stay in one place rather than being per jam, with threads for forming teams, theme announcements etc. If you have anything you would like to see in this hub, please let me know and I will see what I can do!

Please read the rules before submitting.

Have a good week!

Nice! Cool to see how you used to theme too! Heads up that when I was consumed by the void, I couldn't dismiss the browser pop-up that showed the stats, and I couldn't scroll to see the full credits.