itch.io

We're definitely hoping so! Keep an eye on our channels and website for future announcements :) 

Anything that you personally obtained for free  due to a limited time special offer that usually costs money would still be considered a premium asset. Free in this context specifically needs to be free for anyone to use if they want to.
Those assets are still premium but you were able to get a 100% discount on them.

NOTE: All of our Master Classes will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube for those unable to watch live. 

June 5th / Avoiding Burnout - available on our YouTube channel here.

June 20th / Accessibility in Game Development - live at 4pm BST at Twitch.tv/SafeInOurWorld 

More to be announced soon for July onwards!

TDLR: If they are free then it's good to go.
If your use of FMOD or Unity complies with it's free functionality then you're good to go. Even if you are already paying for them already for other reasons.

Essentially yes, if a plugin is free it's good to use.
Last question the "running code on their own" and "excecutes by itself" are clarifications. If it does either of those things and is premium it's not allowed.
If it does either of those things but is free, then it's okay.

The goal here is to make sure no one can make a technically superior game by bankrolling the project. If something is free and anyone can use it it's ok.
Hope that clears things up.

Hi there 

We are posting about our master classes on our website, discord and social media. The first one is now on our YouTube channel here, and the second one is on Thursday 20th June talking about Accessibility and will be live on our Twitch Channel (SafeInOurWorld) and then reuploaded to YouTube. More classes will be announced soon!

Yes, using tools to create assets or using free ones is fine!

Hi,

If any of the above are premium, running their own code while the game is running and your code calls for functions from code you did not write (from a plugin) or it excecutes by itself then it would not be allowed.

If the tools are used to create assets which are then used in the game and all the work is done by your own code or functions being called on are from free plugins it is allowed.

If your game can do something while it's running that is not the result of code you wrote yourself or code that came from a free source it's likely disqualifiable.

You can use Roblox studio if you wish, but any games submitted to the jam should not be monetised until the winners are announced.

When are submissions accepted?
You can submit projects between June and October. The games must be created within that time frame; any games created before June are not permissible. Submissions will close at 11:59pm GMT on October 31st.

How should my game incorporate the theme?
The main theme of the game should be focused around mental health.

During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health conversations grew significantly within communities and amongst peers. It almost acted as a catalyst for further mental health discussion. It was throughout that time that many people felt more able to share their stories and experiences. That doesn't mean your game must explicitly be around COVID-19, but instead incorporates themes in which were felt during that time in relation to our mental health.

Can we be part of multiple teams/submit multiple games? 
Yes, you can, as long as they are all made within the timeframe (June-October).

What counts as a team member?
Anyone integral to the game development should be counted within the team.

This does not extend to small favours in support of your game however, e.g. If I let a friend or family member, or someone on Twitter play it to gauge how fun it is / its emotional impact, or ask a friend to record a couple of pre-written voice lines, they shouldn't be classed as a member of the team.

Can I use AI?
Games using AI generated art or music are not permitted. Human written algorithms that don't use training data are permissible.

Who can take part?
Game Dev Champions is for people just starting their career in the games industry, to qualify you must not work within the industry or have only done so for 2 years or less. This does not apply if your current role is different to the one you will take on for the jam.

What category should a mixed-age group apply for?
If any member of your team is over 24, you are no longer eligible for the 18-24 category and must instead submit for 25+.

Will real-life experiences be able to be creatively reinterpreted, modified, metaphors and fantastical elements added?
Yes! You're welcome to get creative and tell stories in ways you think will work well.

What counts as a premium or paid asset?
Disqualifiable assets include:

• Art and Sound (e.g. Sprites, Models, Animations, Sound effects, Music) that requires a paid licence to use.
• Code running in the final game (at runtime) that was paid for or included in something that was paid for. (e.g. Premium engine licences, paid developers, premium plugins that inject code to be executed at runtime)

Permitted assets include:
• Software used in the creation of assets (e.g. Photoshop, Aseprite, Maya)
• Code used to generate assets that does not require the code to be executed while the game is running. (e.g. Perlin Noise, Particle Effects)
• Game engines that are free to use for non-commercial projects (e.g. Unity, Unreal, GameMaker)

That's great! It's a little admin, but it's in place to protect our community 💪

of course! This is fine :) 

Have you accepted the rules in the #read-me-welcome-rules? Then you should be able to access this 

Hi there, welcome! We will be hosting all of our Master Classes on our Twitch Channel - we will be recording each session and uploading them to our YouTube channel for those not able to attend. We're shouting about when these are in our Discord, on our website, and on our social media.

Hi there - the Discord chat is open! If you join it at discord.gg/safertogether and then assign the Game Dev Champion role in #role-assign you will be able to access the correct channels.

hello! if its a few voice lines it shouldn't count as long as they're happy not to be considered a team member. If voice actors are contributing to additional development such as creative input or script writing, they should count!

Code and templates count too! Since everything on the Godot Asset Store is available on an open source licence, it's fine to use in this jam.

browser games are ok! :)

Hi there 

They will be on our Twitch Channel (twitch.tv/safeinourworld) and will be reuploaded to YouTube post-stream

The first one is happening today, at 3pm BST looking at burnout and how to support yourself. 

The second is happening on June 20th and will be based on accessibility. 

More info here: https://safeinourworld.org/news/mental-health-game-dev-champions-2024-begins/

That's right - thanks Zoro :)

We're not familiar with these, but from a quick check of their store page, they would be allowed, yes. None of them appear to execute code at runtime, so none of them are disallowed

Hey! So sorry for the delay. 

There are no strict guidelines on length of game created, however...

We can't guarantee all judges will play the full game if its a longer game, we will be asking our judges to play a minimum of 15 minutes if possible of each game. We would recommend noting the expected game length on the itch page so we can know expectations.

Hope this helps!

Multiplayer games are ok but there must be either a single player mode, or online multiplayer to enable our judges to effectively play. 

Major exports/web versions are fine 

The game should be complete - but can absolutely be expanded after the event. There is always space for an act 2. Any additional information can be included on the itch page :)

Hi! Welcome and glad to have you <3 Anything is fine - we will be asking our judges to play a minimum of 15 minutes - whatever you create, we would recommend noting the expected game length on the itch page so we can manage expectations :)

This is such a sweet message! Thank you! <3

Hi there, of course! 

If premium (paid) code is executed at runtime, this is disallowed. This would include the Havok physics engine included in Unity Pro. Using the premium editor features is permitted. Premium assets are also disallowed, but premium tools that you use to create assets such as Photoshop, 3ds Max or Maya, and FL Studio are permitted. Using premium assets as a foundation to modify within these tools is disallowed, such as premium models, stock images, or music loops.

For this jam, we're disallowing paid libraries. We'd suggest you reach out to our community on Discord to try and team up with someone who can fill that role, and collaborate on making a game together!

This is fine!

No question is silly! Games that fit the theme around mental health are perfectly fine, COVID was just a prompt for many to start these discussions.

Hi there! I haven't missed this - just waiting to get clarification from our team before answering <3 

We're sorry to hear this <3 We hope that hosting jams like these will allow more and more people to feel comfortable in sharing their experiences and stories around mental health. 

hi there - you can join the SIOW discord here: discord.gg/safertogether 

We do permit the use of personal code libraries for this jam!
And Misterdoug is correct :)

All assets must be made by yourself, or acquired for free. This includes all types of assets across all disciplines. We want this jam to show the world what you're capable of, so let your own work be the spotlight, and patch up the edges with existing assets if necessary.

Brainstorming is ok prior to the jam! But please don't start development prior to June 1st 

This is ok :) this rule is more to avoid teams who work together on commercial projects

Using AI to generate ideas is totally fine, and so is generating AI art for use on a moodboard, or for any other inspiration. However, using code, or art, or audio that was generated or processed by AI in the final game is not allowed for this jam. This includes Copilot, as Copilot was trained on data sourced chiefly from GitHub repositories. Jammers are totally encouraged to use tools with human-written algorithms to modify their creations! This includes audio and visual filters. For code assistance, we have a channel on our Discord where you can reach out to fellow jammers to solve those tricky problems.

Hi there - yes this is fine, not everyone needs to have signed up on Itch, but all team members must be credited on the page.

Hi there

For team formation just one account is fine, but please include credits on the Itch Page

Re assets, self-made or free existing assets are acceptable. 

Thank you!

Just to update you further, we will likely only request project files from finalists, instead of from everyone!