itch.io

I am glad to hear you are excited about it! I honestly can't remember where the 15FPS spec came from, there's been quite a bit of community discussion over these past 8 years so its hard to track down where it originated from. Its not a hard requirement, it was put in place for those who wanted to try and be "as accurate as possible". However, based on your info and seeing the datasheet of the PCD8544 I am going to update that section of the FAQ with the info you've provided!

As a general rule, if a participant believes they have a way to make their game MORE accurate in a way that is not stated in the rules it would be allowed and encouraged.

I appreciate your insight and I am excited to play your game!

If you have any questions about the rules of the jam that are not answered below feel free to ask them in this thread and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

When can I start working on my game?

Your game, including all assets outside of the resource page, should be made within the jam’s duration.

Does my game have to run on a real Nokia 3310?

Nope! We're just using the restrictions as a design space.

Can I make my own engine?

Yes! Many participants have done this. Feel free to make the framework before the jam begins. Just make sure it doesn’t put you ahead of other people using pre-made engines.

How do I make my game as accurate as possible to the Nokia 3310?

None of the following is necessary to submit a game and it won’t improve your score. This is for those who want to go the extra mile. Game fps should be 15. As pointed out by hoaniware in the comments below, the screen the Nokia 3310 used (PCD8544) was capable of up to 67hz so you can set your FPS to anything 67fps and below, whatever you feel emulates the 3310's screen responsiveness best. Ensure you are not using more "modern technology" like physics engines, 3d graphics, etc. The simpler the better. You could simulate the LCD's ghosting. The Nokia 3310’s screen also did not use perfectly square pixels. Each pixel was likely a 3:4 / 7:9 ratio.

  The Nokia 3310 was incapable of sub-pixel movement and sub-pixel scrolling so it is NOT allowed. This means all pixels must be perfectly aligned with the pixel grid. There should be no half-pixels even while moving. The ultimate challenge would be to get your game running on a real Nokia 3310!

Only 12 controls are allowed but the Nokia 3310 has 16 buttons.

The jam excludes the 4 menu buttons as they were usually used to navigate menu's and not play the actual game.

Can I mix and match the three color palettes? 

No. You should be selecting one option and making your whole game with your selection. Palette swapping is allowed if it is an option/setting and not part of gameplay.

Congrats! I was following other interests for awhile and didn't have much motivation, did some adjacent stuff like web development. Hopefully will do more soon!

There are no available ratings for disqualified games but you always have a chance to be a game dev! just keep on practicing and making games!

Your game itself is the correct resolution but your UI elements are not aligning to the pixel grid. Your ui and your game need to be adhering to the same resolution and be in line with the pixel grid.

Okay I see, that's my bad. I tested on 1080p screen and 2k screen like you mentioned but I was seeing the same issue. Other Godot projects I played didn't have this issue so I assumed it was dev mistake. Downloading the game resolved the scaling issue. Ill make sure to go through games earlier in the voting period and check different builds so potential issues like this can be sorted out before the end of the jam. I sincerely apologize for my mistake.

This is probably one of, if not my personal favorite submission from this year. While I can understand some of the criticisms I think it excels at delivering an intense drifting experience, especially given the restrictions. 
Is the window to get the shifts right pretty tight and unforgiving? Yes. But so is drifting a car. Getting it right is extremely satisfying and once you realize you can change gears faster by cutting it short it almost emulates discovering advanced manual driving techniques (multiple gear shifts, double clutching, etc). It also gives a sense of mastery and advancement. It feels a bit crazy that I feel this way about a game that at its core is a number memorization game but the stick and the visuals surrounding it complete the experience.

I will say the first race does take a bit too long imo or the first race should be super easy to have a better learning curve. Numbers on the screen would also be nice as I am not a manual driver. I wrote the numbers on sticky notes and put it on my screen lol. I did get a bug multiple times where I would get the "good" sound and then get the "bad" engine animation which would ultimately cut my runs short as I think the "bad" engine animation somehow wrote over my correct shifting. On thing I saw you said you might do that I would advocate against is returning the stick to the middle every time, I am assuming you were going for seamless "drift switches"(idk how to explain it") But I liked that part of the challenge was remembering where I left off. For me personally it left just enough difficulty where I wanted to keep trying to get better.

Despite those critiques, this one definitely left an an awesome impression on me. Great work!

Great job submitting a game! Unfortunately it breaks the resolution rules so I have to disqualify it. There may be some unity devs in our discord that would be able to help you fix those issues for next time! 

Good job submitting a game! Unfortunately it is breaking resolution rules so I have to disqualify it from being rated. Would love to see you submit next year with those issues fixed!

Really cool little idea you have here! There appears to be sub-pixel movement, the character doesn't align to the pixel grid, which is an indicator that your game is not being scaled properly. This goes against the resolution rules so unfortunately I have to disqualify it from being rated. It would be awesome to see continued development of this idea!

Cool challenge to bring some "upgrade" elements into snake. It looks like your ui and game have conflicting resolutions which unfortunately disqualifies your entry from being rated. Looking forward to your updates to the game!

These are some fun arcade inspired mini games! It looks like your opening menu's are breaking resolution rules so unfortunately I am going to have to disqualify the game. You can hop in our discord and see if any godot devs know how to fix the issue for next time!

Thanks for submitting a game! Unfortunately there seems to be a third gray color present in the game which is not allowed according to our rules so this game has been disqualified.

Cool take on Space Impact! Unfortunately there are discrepancies in your resolution. The enemies are moving in sub pixels and the hp indicators are a completely different resolution that would not be able to work on the Nokia screen. This means your entry has been disqualified. I encourage you to figure out how to resolve these issues and participate next year! Thanks for making a game for the jam!

Fun platformer! Unfortunately the text above the character as well as the character movement is not sticking to the resolution rules or aligning with the pixel grid which disqualifies the game. There may be some Godot devs in our discord who could help you with the restrictions if you would like!

Really love the vibe and idea of the game! It looks like the camera outputs too high of resolution so unfortunately it is disqualified from ranking. If you have questions on how to prevent this in the future we have some other Godot devs in our Discord that may be able to help!

Cool little game with a simple objective! Great job. Unfortunately it looks like you are breaking the resolution rules with player and character movement as they are not aligning to the pixel grid. This disqualifies your entry. There may be some devs in our discord that are familiar with Godot and how to fix this issue if you are interested.

Great job making a game! This is a fun idea. Unfortunately you are breaking resolution rules with certain aspects like the sheep movement and the grain "line" so your game has been disqualified. This looks to be a case of not scaling the game properly and I am unsure of how to do it correctly in unity but we have some people in our Discord server that may be able to give you some advice if you're interested!

Really cool way to tell a narrative story! For your first jam this is really awesome. Unfortunately you are heavily breaking the sound limitations of the phone/rules of the jam so your entry has been disqualified. Keep up the dev work and would love to see you back next year! I've linked a youtube video that demonstrates the capabilities of the phone more clearly.

Thanks for submitting a game, cool take on a rhythm game for this resolution! Unfortunately it heavily breaks the audio limitations in the rules and has been disqualified. Please see below for the sound rules:

"To most accurately represent the sound the Nokia 3310 was capable of, please use the sound resources available for download on the official itch.io resource page. There should only be one audio channel and one sound played at a time. So if you have music playing and a sound effect is played it should interrupt the music, not play over the top of the music."

Thanks relei! So happy you were able to play all the games!

Hey Relei, I answered in the Discord as well but I will leave this here too. I don't know why submissions weren't locked, I guess I forgot to tick the box but they are supposed to be locked for the duration of the judging period. It would be best if you deactivated the new version. Thanks for your transparency!

Thank you for playing and for the kind comment!

Use the report feature on itch.io and we will take a look

That's so awesome that you finished your first game! And I am glad you enjoyed the restrictions. Can't wait to play! 

There are a some unity devs in our discord that you could ask for help if you need it! https://discord.gg/A6nxGXydZB

Hey Bady, sorry to get to this late but I see you've joined the Discord. Yes totally fine!

Sorry for being a bit late to your question! Yes you can do 3D and yes you can submit as many games as you'd like!

Yep! You are allowed to map your keys how you need to allow the most people to play your game -- some people don't have numpads or arrows

From the jam page: "Work solo or make a team to create a game using the restrictions of the original Nokia 3310 phone from the 2000s!"

It can't be an actual mechanic of the game. You could allow a player to swap palettes with a keybind in game if you want or it has to be in a setting menu. Palette swapping is only an aesthetic option in the game.

No problem if its an executable but you will always get more players and feedback if it can be run through the browser

1) Can the 4 menu buttons be used in the case that that they are used for emulated Nokia menu navigation and not for gameplay systems?

Yes.

2) May the "whitespace" that the 3310 had bordering the LCD screen be included in the game, assuming that it is not utilized as part of the display area?

Yes, even if you want to include a whole graphic of the phone around the display area that is totally fine. Also if you want to use the mouse to physically click the buttons on the screen that would be okay as well.

3) Are sounds emulating the dull click of pressing the phones buttons allowed?

Anything you want to do, as long as you're trying to emulate the phone is fine.

4) Is accuracy to the phone's operating system necessary in cases where the Nokia's menus and such are represented?

No, but if you want to try to emulate the original phone I would say get as close as you can

Overall I love your idea and I am excited to see it!

Generally we strongly recommend only using the sounds in Nokia Jam Resources as that clears confusion around what is allowed and not. As long as your sounds are close to what the original 3310 could produce it won't be removed or disqualified. You can use this video to get an a general idea of what it should sound like. 

Unfortunately all work needs to be done within the given time constraints. There are ways you can set yourself up for success, like building a template for the restrictions within the engine you're using. See the Resources page for an idea of what you can do and what assets you are given to work with.

Welcome!
You can only pick one of the palettes. Your game can only be two colors. If you would like you can include a palette swapper as a game setting.

If you have any questions about the rules of the jam that are not answered below feel free to ask them in this thread and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

When can I start working on my game?

Your game, including all assets outside of the resource page, should be made within the jam’s duration.

Does my game have to run on a real Nokia 3310?

Nope! We're just using the restrictions as a design space.

Can I make my own engine?

Yes! Many participants have done this. Feel free to make the framework before the jam begins. Just make sure it doesn’t put you ahead of other people using pre-made engines.

How do I make my game as accurate as possible to the Nokia 3310?

None of the following is necessary to submit a game and it won’t improve your score. This is for those who want to go the extra mile. Game fps should be 15. Ensure you are not using more "modern technology" like physics engines, 3d graphics, etc. The simpler the better. You could simulate the LCD's ghosting. The Nokia 3310’s screen also did not use perfectly square pixels. Each pixel was likely a 3:4 / 7:9 ratio.

  The Nokia 3310 was incapable of sub-pixel movement and sub-pixel scrolling so it is NOT allowed. This means all pixels must be perfectly aligned with the pixel grid. There should be no half-pixels even while moving. The ultimate challenge would be to get your game running on a real Nokia 3310!

Only 12 controls are allowed but the Nokia 3310 has 16 buttons.

The jam excludes the 4 menu buttons as they were usually used to navigate menu's and not play the actual game.

Can I mix and match the three color palettes? 

No. You should be selecting one option and making your whole game with your selection. Palette swapping is allowed if it is an option/setting and not part of gameplay.

When you jump from a certain height you have to somersault to not stop/get injured.

Somersault: Press and hold "P" while landing from "high jumps" to perform a somersault and avoid getting hurt.

Great job! Thanks for playing!

Thanks! :)