itch.io

Hi! 🙋‍♀️ Beth here.

I've put the bundle together and reached out last week for approval, and just reached out again today. The email is titled "Smol Games Bundle Approval [Toucan Do It jam bundle follow-up email]" and was sent by CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com. It has information about approving the bundle and final steps.

Alternatively, you can just click here -- https://itch.io/bundle/2364/edit#participants -- and approve it (down at the bottom of the page). 

I'll follow up one more time on the 28th, and then on the 29th I'll email Itch support to remove anyone who hasn't approved.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at:

• Email --> CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com
• Discord --> bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Hi! 🙋‍♀️ Beth here.

I've put the bundle together and reached out last week for approval, and just reached out again today. The email is titled "Smol Games Bundle Approval [Toucan Do It jam bundle follow-up email]" and was sent by CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com. It has information about approving the bundle and final steps.

Alternatively, you can just click here -- https://itch.io/bundle/2364/edit#participants -- and approve it (down at the bottom of the page). 

I'll follow up one more time on the 28th, and then on the 29th I'll email Itch support to remove anyone who hasn't approved.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at:

• Email --> CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com
• Discord --> bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Hi! 🙋‍♀️ Beth here.

I've put the bundle together and reached out last week for approval, and just reached out again today. The email is titled "Smol Games Bundle Approval [Toucan Do It jam bundle follow-up email]" and was sent by CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com. It has information about approving the bundle and final steps.

Alternatively, you can just click here -- https://itch.io/bundle/2364/edit#participants -- and approve it (down at the bottom of the page). 

I'll follow up one more time on the 28th, and then on the 29th I'll email Itch support to remove anyone who hasn't approved.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at:

• Email --> CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com
• Discord --> bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Hi! 🙋‍♀️ Beth here.

I've put the bundle together and reached out last week for approval, and just reached out again today. The email is titled "Smol Games Bundle Approval [Toucan Do It jam bundle follow-up email]" and was sent by CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com. It has information about approving the bundle and final steps.

Alternatively, you can just click here -- https://itch.io/bundle/2364/edit#participants -- and approve it (down at the bottom of the page). 

I'll follow up one more time on the 28th, and then on the 29th I'll email Itch support to remove anyone who hasn't approved.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at:

• Email --> CataclysmicKnight@gmail.com
• Discord --> bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Thank you too! It's greatly appreciated, and I'm so happy to have you in the jam and bundle!

Hi Nostromo! I'm trying to reach you via Discord but since we don't share a server, I can't message unless you accept my friend request. I'm bethmakesgames on there.

Alternatively, you can ignore that and just check out and approve the bundle if you want. I have additional info if you need it if you wanna accept my friend request, but if you approve the bundle then everything is handled anyway :D

https://itch.io/b/2364/smol-games-at-a-smol-price

- ✨Beth

Hi! The devlogs are mainly used for updates. It emails everyone that has purchased the game. So if you update something in the file or have news about something to do with the game or just want to share some backstory, you're welcome to fill out a devlog, but it's never a requirement. 

To do so you go into the edit game menu and look at the tabs at the top. The second one is devlog. You can fill one out there.

~Angel

Hi!!! I'm so sorry I didn't reply to this sooner, there are three of us on the team and lots of times the notifications get cleared and I don't see them :(

Oh wow, that sounds EPIC!!!! I love that it's a zine (format, at least) that sounds so incredibly thematic, has puzzles, and can be a great introduction to the same world!

I also can't believe The Secret of Langton Manor is PWYW!!!!! Goodness, it sounds magnificent, I figured you were charging $5-10 for it! I will definitely check it out when I get a chance, I LOVE puzzles and narrative games and escape rooms! 

- ✨Beth

Hi! I'm about to hit send on an email to everyone who joined with this week's challenge, but in that email I also asked everyone (if they want) to introduce themselves with something they've created. I think that you can learn sooooooooo much about someone by the things they create!

So please feel encouraged to share something you've created. Something that sums you up as a creator, or something that you're proud of, even if that pride resides in a single part of it (like "I really wish I could've gotten the text better, but I loved my layout on this!" or "ugh it's still super short but I feel like I nailed the controls!").

Write as much as you'd like about yourself, but please include a link to something you've made, whether it's your entry for this jam or something else entirely.

- ✨Beth

Oh my goodness, I love this! You did a fantastic job bringing the vibe of the game throughout the page, and it's so awesome you have so many community copies!

- ✨Beth

Oh my goodness, I love this! And a 24-word RPG is a PERFECT fit for this jam 🥳 You did a fantastic job bringing the vibe of the game throughout the page, and it's so awesome you have so many community copies!

- ✨Beth

Some people do bundles after a bundle. In fact, if you keep an eye out, sometimes there are even super special ones like the 2nd CoinSides Adventure Sparks Jam and Tiny Library Mosaic Game Jam (Modern Fantasy) for tabletop creators, and video game jams that give cash prizes (I do tabletop myself so I don't know those all too well). I do know about this jam though that runs each month: Indiepocalypse. They collect a set number of games (video or tabletop) each month and put them into a digital zine that people can purchase and get all of the games from, and people get a flat $ amount + a % of sales. Anything you make for any other jam totally qualifies here too if it's still smol somehow :D

It's not always easy to check all of the jams out, but sometimes it's super worth it! 🙌 

And I 100% relate to the issue of time = number of games entered lol

And thanks for the well-wishes :D

- ✨Beth

Yeah absolutely, submit as many as you'd like :D I was hoping to enter one per week (I was gonna try to do all of the challenges) but Angel's mom got injured a couple of days ago so we're taking over running this household lol. I'm still hoping to make at least 5-6 games for this jam though 🧡 

Just remember though: if you're adding your games to the bundle, the bundle profits are split by creator, not by number of entries. So if one person enters one game and another enters 5, both people get the same split of the revenue :D

While I don't recommend having multiple accounts because it means dividing your potential marketing (everyone has to follow both accounts, etc), if you DO have multiple accounts, feel free to enter games from each. We do that with this account: Angel and I have our own account (Beth and Angel Make Games) and then we have this account that we share with Carla. So when we join bundles, we add at least one thing from each account 🥳

- ✨Beth

Whoops, I apologize for not being more clear about this before.

Anywhere I say "game"/"games", what I mean is "pretty much anything that you can interact with. You still can't use artwork that isn't your own if you want to charge for it on Itch or be in the bundle (I think?), but that's the only limitation I know of. All of the following are valid:

• A mod for a game
• A coloring page or coloring book
• A recipe for yummy food
• A tool for game design/development (randomizers, color pickers, etc)
• A list of exercises to do for a workout
• A short story
• A new song

There are countless other valid things, but feel free to ask if you want to make sure :D

Hey there! And whoops, yeah... I used to specify in our jams that non-game stuff is totally acceptable, and it still is here too! So a tool to help with design, mods, character creators, heck even things like coloring pages, cooking recipes, or journaling prompts are all totally valid too.

So yeah, both of those are 100% valid :D

- ✨Beth

The first challenge is now on the main jam page. I'll be posting a new one each week, and will do my best to try to make something during that time frame (except in February lol I'll be busy as heck in February). 

These challenges are optional, so don't feel like you have to do them. And if you notice a challenge you want to do later, do it later, that's cool too! 

I'll do my best to update the page every Monday but forgive me if I forget 😅 In fact, if I don't have one out by Tuesday, feel free to post here and remind me. Or hit me up on our Discord server, I'm way more likely to notice that (this is actually my second Itch account because it's a team I run with Carla and Angel; Angel and I have a different primary account: Beth and Angel Make Games).

Have fun! And feel free to ask any questions you may have :D

Absolutely!

So, the challenge is to make something small and/or something in a small time frame. So you can make a game in a day or a weekend or a week (a week is still SUPER fast!), or you can make something small like a one-page TTRPG, a game on a business card, or a video game that's only 100 lines of code, etc.

Any interpretation of "small" is valid, and that includes "small" to you. If you normally spend 2 years on a game, then spending one month on a game is relatively small. Or if you normally make TTRPGs that are 50 pages long and make one that's 10 pages, that's relatively small too! 🥳 

- ✨Beth

That's correct, but I'll be doing different challenges throughout, and lots of people may only have a small sliver of time during this entire jam to take part :D

I'm pretty awful, personally, about being able to find an hour or two in a week to take part. Or like... I line everything up to have a weekend free to gamedev, only to have something come up and lose the entire time, so I have to wait until another time pops up.

And I was gonna end the jam a month earlier, but February is Tabletop Nonstop with Crowdfundr and Angel and I plan to run a campaign. So this way, I can put time and effort into promoting the bundle when it's done, rather than being busy that whole month. 🥳 

- ✨Beth

Aaaawwwwwwww thank you so much! And what a wonderful frog it is, too 🐸🥳 

- ✨Beth

Hi there! Yeah, whoops lol, I wrote in one place that it had to be made after the jam started but then later decided "what the heck, anything started in December or later is valid!"

So, yes, you can begin a game anytime now (or even have started it on December 1st). In fact, as long as 25% of it is made after December 1st, it's valid! 🥳 I personally start a lot of stuff that I don't finish, and I think that finishing something is just as valid as completely making something, especially for a jam like that that runs for a long time :D 

And you're so welcome, thank YOU for joining, and welcome to the jam!

- ✨Beth

Is NSFW stuff allowed?

Normally yes, but not this time. While NSFW stuff is perfectly valid, I want this to be a collection of creations that people can check out with people of any age and choose something to play.  

What's NOT allowed?

• Anything hateful toward any group of people, especially anything racist, sexist, queerphobic, ableist, xenophobic, and so on. With that said, things that give a point of view from someone who has experienced those things is welcome! Generally punching up is fine, punching down is mean and uncalled for.
• Anything released before the jam began.
• Anything that doesn't fit the theme. For this jam, that means you have to make something that's small or was made in a small time frame.

Note: there might be more, but like... We're chill and welcoming, so unless you make something really atrocious, I'm sure it'll be fine. You can always reach out to me to ask if you're unsure. :D

Can I charge money for what I create?

Heck yeah you can, and you should! It's jam etiquette to add community copies or make what you create free while the jam is running. It's far from required, though! Doing so allows others who enter the jam to check out all the entries and give feedback, though.

If your game isn't free and will be part of the bundle, I'll reach out to you to ask for a copy of it to make sure it doesn't break any of the rules here.

I HIGHLY recommend that if you make what you create free, please set it to "$0 or donate" instead of "no payments" if you can. This means that when someone hits the download button, they'll see a screen where they can pay for what you made. If people don't want to pay, they can hit "no thanks" and get it. But it's an amazing feeling when someone pays, and some people love having the option to support a creator! 🧡

And if you want to charge money for it, but want to make it free for the jam, I've found that setting the price where it should be and then running a sale that makes it free is far better than merely making the game free and changing the price later.

Should I give feedback to other games? And if so, what kind?

Unless a creator says otherwise, give encouraging, friendly feedback. This is an encouraging jam, after all. Some entries may be from people who have never made finished anything creative or are still new to it. Plus, jams are often the perfect time to experiment. Be specific about what you enjoy about it. "I loved the way you wrote this part" is so much better and more genuine than "I liked it."

Can I submit something if I submitted it into another jam?

Heck yeah! Most of my jam creations are for two or more jams. :D

How can I find out about future jams?

Check us out on Discord or join our Patreon! We use our Patreon as a blog. News, sales, community copy additions, and deep dives into our designs are free; in fact, ALL of the posts are free with the exception of some exclusive polls. You can become a free member and read almost everything right in your email, like a newsletter! Plus, free members get a free game each month! And since we add community copies to each of our games, your notification of a game's release means you can hop on one of the community copies if you want. 🥳

Quirky Bird Games is a sister company to Weird Giraffe Games (hence the Weird Giraffe Games discord server), and you can find the #toucan-do-it-jams channel down under "QUIRKY BIRD GAMES." Feel free to chat everywhere on the server, though, of course! :D 

How can I reach out to you to ask questions privately?

Either of these methods work:

• Email: CataclysmicKnight[at]gmail.com
• Discord: bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Oh wow, this is really clever! I like the way the cards and dice intermingle, and how you can never feel fully safe with your key spread, even if you get lucky and have 13 cards in a row! 

Plus, the fact that the game ends after three rounds and that everyone can lose means that it's a fast-paced game where you won't feel terrible if you lose and can just play again.

Very well done, and congrats on your first card game (and first game for four people)!

- ✨Beth

Oh wow, this is really clever! I like the way the cards and dice intermingle, and how you can never feel fully safe with your key spread, even if you get lucky and have 13 cards in a row! 

Plus, the fact that the game ends after three rounds and that everyone can lose means that it's a fast-paced game where you won't feel terrible if you lose and can just play again.

Very well done, and congrats on your first card game (and first game for four people)!

- ✨Beth

Is NSFW stuff allowed?

Normally yes, but not this time. While NSFW stuff is perfectly valid, I want this to be a collection of creations that people can check out with people of any age and choose something to play.  

What's NOT allowed?

• Anything hateful toward any group of people, especially anything racist, sexist, queerphobic, ableist, xenophobic, and so on. With that said, things that give a point of view from someone who has experienced those things is welcome! Generally punching up is fine, punching down is mean and uncalled for.
• Anything released before the jam began.
• Anything that doesn't fit the theme. For this jam, that means you have to make something that can be played with others!

Note: there might be more, but like... We're chill and welcoming, so unless you make something really atrocious, I'm sure it'll be fine. You can always reach out to me to ask if you're unsure :D

Can I charge money for what I create?

Heck yeah you can, and you should! It's jam etiquette to add community copies or make what you create free while the jam is running. It's far from required, though! Doing so allows others who enter the jam to check out all the entries and give feedback, though.

I HIGHLY recommend that if you make what you create free, please set it to "$0 or donate" instead of "no payments" if you can. This means that when someone hits the download button, they'll see a screen where they can pay for what you made. If people don't want to pay, they can hit "no thanks" and get it. But it's an amazing feeling when someone pays, and some people love having the option to support a creator! 🧡

Speaking of feedback, what kind should I give?

Unless a creator says otherwise, give encouraging, friendly feedback. This is an encouraging jam, after all. Some entries may be from people who have never made finished anything creative or are still new to it. Plus, jams are often the perfect time to experiment. Be specific about what you enjoy about it. "I loved the way you wrote this part" is so much better and more genuine than "I liked it."

Can I submit something if I submitted it into another jam?

Heck yeah! Most of my jam creations are for two or more jams. :D

How can I find out about future jams?

Check us out on Discord or join our Patreon!

Quirky Bird Games is a sister company to Weird Giraffe Games (hence the Weird Giraffe Games discord server), and you can find the #toucan-do-it-jams channel down under "QUIRKY BIRD GAMES." Feel free to chat everywhere on the server, though, of course :D 

We use our Patreon as a blog. News, sales, community copy additions, and deep dives into our designs are free (with more of the locked ones becoming free as we redo our Patreon this month). You can become a free member and read almost everything right in your email, like a newsletter!

How can I reach out to you to ask questions privately?

Either of these methods work:

• Email: CataclysmicKnight[at]gmail.com
• Discord: bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

Oh my goodness, congrats on your first physical game!!! And hiya, lovely to meet you :D I haven't downloaded and fully checked this out yet, but the screenshots look AMAZING. I've made like 50 TTRPGS (almost all micro TTRPGs ofc lol) and mine don't look anywhere near this good, wow! 😮 

- ✨Beth

What kinds of things can I enter?

Analog "games." TTRPGs, tabletop games, lyrical games, journaling games... pretty much anything that involves a person (or people) interacting with your creation.

If you're wondering whether what you're making is a game or not, yes it is. But feel free to ask if you want to make sure. :D

Is NSFW stuff allowed?

As long as you flag it as such, go for it! We want this to be a safe place for those who don't want to see NSFW content. With that said, NSFW creations are as valid as anything else! 🙌 

What's NOT allowed?

• Anything hateful toward any group of people, especially anything racist, sexist, queerphobic, ableist, xenophobic, and so on. With that said, things that give a point of view from someone who has experienced those things is welcome! Generally punching up is fine, punching down is mean and uncalled for.
• Anything released before the jam began.
• Anything that doesn't fit the theme. For this jam, that means you have to try something new!

Note: there might be more, but like... We're chill and welcoming, so unless you make something really atrocious, I'm sure it'll be fine. You can always reach out to me to ask if you're unsure :D

Can I charge money for what I create?

Heck yeah you can, and you should! It's jam etiquette to add community copies or make what you create free while the jam is running. It's far from required, though! Doing so allows others who enter the jam to check out all the entries and give feedback, though.

I HIGHLY recommend that if you make what you create free, please set it to "$0 or donate" instead of "no payments" if you can. This means that when someone hits the download button, they'll see a screen where they can pay for what you made. If people don't want to pay, they can hit "no thanks" and get it. But it's an amazing feeling when someone pays, and some people love having the option to support a creator! 🧡

Speaking of feedback, what kind should I give?

Unless a creator says otherwise, give encouraging, friendly feedback. This is an encouraging jam, after all. Some entries may be from people who have never made finished anything creative or are still new to it. Plus, jams are often the perfect time to experiment. Be specific about what you enjoy about it. "I loved the way you wrote this part" is so much better and more genuine than "I liked it."

Can I submit something if I submitted it into another jam?

Heck yeah! I made most of my jam creations for two or more jams. :D

How do I win the jam?

You win by entering something! 🥳 This is an unrated game jam, there are no prizes aside from pride, your experiences, and any new people you meet.

How can I find out about future jams?

Check us out on Discord or join our Patreon! You can find out more in the "Join our community (100% optional)" post.

How can I reach out to you to ask questions privately?

Either of these methods work:

• Email: CataclysmicKnight[at]gmail.com
• Discord: bethmakesgames

- ✨Beth

You can join our discord server by clicking here. Quirky Bird Games is a sister company to Weird Giraffe Games (hence the Weird Giraffe Games discord server), and you can find the #toucan-do-it-jams channel down under "QUIRKY BIRD GAMES." Feel free to chat everywhere on the server, though, of course :D 

You can also become a free member of our Patreon! Free members get an email whenever we put out a post, including when the next jam is created and set up. Paid members also get access to our games as they release! 🥳

- ✨Beth

Aaaawwwwwww well thank you so much Lýz! That's so awesome to hear! 🧡 

It's funny because it's become such a thing now that it's just where our brains go pretty much immediately. Even when I start off writing a dungeon-diving game or something it's like: "but what about your FEELINGS?" 🤣 

And you've been one heck of an inspiration yourself, btw!

- ✨Beth

Well thank you so much, that means a lot 🧡! And sure, I've got tweets about:

• The game --> https://twitter.com/BethMakesGames/status/1702366843120283817
• The sale --> https://twitter.com/BethMakesGames/status/1702103550178861466

- ✨Beth

Our lives aren't movies, yet our minds insist on chiming in like movie critics forced to watch our lives against their will... what's that about?! The Inner Critic is about silencing this harsh voice. Turn your inner critic into your biggest fan, a voice armed with compliment sandwiches, not rotten tomatoes. 

This is a solo journaling game that uses the Second Guess System with a twist, and in the end, you'll make your inner critic more kind, encouraging, and supportive, while learning to encourage and inspire others as well!

You can find it here --> https://quirkybirdgames.itch.io/the-inner-critic

And it's in a bundle of 6 other positive-thinking games and activities for $5 here through the 17th --> https://itch.io/b/2042/the-positive-thinking-sale

I extended the jam a day yesterday, and I just did the same again today... We haven't quite finished our entry yet 🤣 

With that said, if anyone else ever finishes a game late, feel free to post here in the community. I can send you a link to get your game added late. Even if it's weeks or months late, go for it! Just know that the earlier a game gets into a jam, the more people will see it (a lesson I still need to learn myself...)

- ✨Beth

Are you a cross-creator too? Or looking for something to help narrow down the list of SRDs? Here are some jams that involve using an SRD that are running during our jam! If you know of any others, feel free to toss em in the replies :D

Note: all end dates are the last FULL day in Eastern time, and the descriptions of the SRDs are very simplified.

• Goldilocks Jam (ends September 28th) - The two central #s on a die are success, the highest & lowest are major fails, everything in between is success with a negative or a failure (depending on what the GM decides).
  
• XD6 SRD Jam - A Fistful of Sixes! (ends September 29th) - You have LOTS of dice to do epic things with, and you choose how many to use each time, but failures are lost until you recover them.
• Quixotic Jam (ends November 21st) -  roll SOOOOO many dice, and players interpret the results.
• Powered by Sentinel Jam (ends August 31st) - you play as a powerful/important/notable person and explore your past, present, and future in a journaling game with a deck of cards and dice.
• 2023 TTRPG Jam to 21 (ends September 19th) - While the jam doesn't require you to use it, it includes A Tale of 21 system, which is a competitive storytelling system that uses blackjack! 

I absolutely love this system! Crafting is always one of my favorite elements, and one of my fav things about tabletop games is the tactility of them. Being able to get dominos, put them together, and create stuff is an EPIC combo of both!

- ✨Beth

Angel's The Familiar Files is a solo thought/journaling exercise that personifies your intrusive/negative thoughts as a familiar you've been cursed with. Write out your thoughts to get them out of your mind and, later, figure out if they're your thoughts or from the overly-negative-but-trying-to-help familiar later when you're further removed from them.

The game is (at least temporarily) free --> https://quirkybirdgames.itch.io/the-familar-files

With that said, we may charge for the game later, so I've put it under "Sale" instead of "Free" :D

Thanks so much! That's  exactly what I was trying to do with the game, as I know I'm always harder on myself than I am on anyone else. 

How's everyone doing on finishing something? Do you have a project picked out? 

I finished a thing for the Tiny Mosaic Jam and I felt super accomplished! I do want to try to complete another thing, but I'm not sure on what yet! 

Thank you! I appreciate you saying that! 

Thank you! I've never done anything like this, so I had hoped it'd be enough to give someone an idea on where to go next.  I do like the idea of digital fae! Those could be like the new sprites. (also.... SPRITES that are sprites!)

Reversing Rolls is a solo or 2-player motivational game! It can be played right on your fridge or set up on a table for the week, and you move the dice back and forth as you complete/neglect activities. You can pick any activities you want and battle against someone you live with, or battle with your own determination!

You can get a copy of the game for free through the weekend right here --> https://quirkybirdgames.itch.io/reversing-rolls

It’s not always easy to love yourself, but llamas exist and are here to help guide you through the process of self-discovery. You’re someone worthy of love even if it seems like it’s easier to love a llama than it is to love yourself.  

You can get the game here: https://quirkybirdgames.itch.io/live-love-llama