me too lol. glad you enjoyed it!

thank you!

i’m pretty sure there are only 4 colors, but Mel has a way with pixels for sure! there are definitely some bugs. i’m going to try to fix them and add some of the stuff i didn’t get done in a post-jam update.

thank you! glad you enjoyed it.

thanks so much!

the bug is only in the HTML version if you want to download the PC version and play, or there’s a link to the soundtrack on the page if you want to hear how it should sound! thanks for playing!

i think there are quite a few space shooters (mine included). people tend to rate games from those who play, rate, and comment on their games so i would recommend doing that if you want more people to check out your game!

lol thanks for playing! i watched your stream vod. i think the doggo was the artist’s idea. there are actually 3 different ones you can pick up (it’s randomized). doggo was also meant to be a powerup of sorts that would help you out (like maybe auto-shooting or something), but alas, i didn’t get that into the game either.

neat! that seems helpful, especially the favorites thing. just so you know, itch.io does keep track of which games you’ve rated and shows an indicator on the game’s thumbnail when you have.

if i could give this zero stars i would (for music and gameplay). :P

yeah, i’m not smart enough to get 5x5 blocks. i mostly got 3x3s. but there were a couple times i got 2 adjacent 3x3s at the same time. not sure if that gives any kind of combo score. i played a couple rounds and my best score was 465. :D

very polished entry and interesting concept! definitely seems like something you could release commercially without a lot of extra work. graphics are plain, but solid. soundtrack is minimal, but what i like most about it is the sound effects are in the same key as the soundtrack so if you time your movements to the beat it adds to the soundtrack. i honestly had more fun with that (and humming along my own additions) than clearing blocks lol. would be really neat if you added a mode that combined rhythm into the gameplay. otherwise, the sound effects got a little chaotic/discordant if i tried to play faster, so it was nice that you added the mute features.

thank you! yeah, buying upgrades with gems was the idea i just didn’t get it done. :( thanks for playing and rating!

i love the music, but yeah anything gets old after some time. maybe i should have alternated a couple of the tracks in the main gameplay area to reduce that happening. there were 2 tracks our musician made that didn’t make it into the game actually. we planned to have a shop with weapon upgrades and such, but i’m not the best coder and ultimately didn’t have the time to get it all done. thanks for playing and the feedback!

oh! you probably played the HTML version. yeah, there’s a bug that is causing the music to not cut off so there are multiple songs playing simultaneously. unfortunately, this is caused by my old game engine (GameMaker 1.4) that is no longer supported and i don’t have any control over it. like i said on the game page, the PC version should work relatively bug-free (there are a few though) and the music should play correctly. thanks for playing and for the feedback!

yeah, i totally understand, it frustrates me too. i couldn’t seem to figure out how to get it to work the way i wanted it to lol. thanks for playing anyway!

thanks so much! HyphenPixel (musician) and mellbells18 (artist) really did amazing stuff for this game. i wish i could have gotten more done to do their work justice.

i think parallax backgrounds weren’t common, but some games had it. this jam isn’t about matching the hardware restrictions of the Game Boy exactly, but emulating the aesthetic of the games. so it’s fine if your game has it.

nice!

i don’t use Unity, so i can’t really answer your question, but we do have several Unity resources that have been shared on our discord and i posted them in response to another question on here. so maybe some of those will help you. here’s the other post: https://itch.io/jam/gbjam-11/topic/3122937/gameboy-resolution

this is using the Nintendo logo as well as the Game Boy logo, both of which are trademarked. i would not use those without express permission from Nintendo (which you’re unlikely to get). also see this post.

i would recommend you do not pay for assets for a game jam! participation in this jam especially should only be voluntary and free of charge!

cover art and box art are not under the same restrictions as the game itself, but they must be made by your team and without the assistance of AI. The page and peripheral items for your game (anything not-the-game) can be made and adjusted during and after the jam period.

you can safely assume that, yes.

your interpretation is correct. :)

that is what those images on the jam page are illustrating…

cool idea! yeah, seems fine to me if you want to put in that extra work. i don’t see a problem with it, as it seems to fit within the rules. Polyducks will have the final say, but i’m going to guess he’d be fine with it also.

if you’re still confused, here is Polyduck’s famous 4-color rant:

You can only have four colours on the screen at once. Black is a colour. The four colours include all shades, all tones, all hues. Gameboy does not support semi-opacity. The four colours apply to the whole screen, including sprites. You cannot have one four colour palette for your background and another for sprites. This jam does not allow for a fifth experimental colour like ‘default screen background’. Four is the total amount of colours you are allowed. You may use three or two. Five is right out.

The four colours you choose do not have to be the default palette you’ve found on Wikipedia. Lospec.com has loads of four colour palettes you could try. You can even make your own.

You can change your palette mid-game so long as the new palette is four colours. You cannot change your colours mid-scan-line or any other sneaky trickery. If you have more than four colours on the screen at any one time it is not obeying the rules.

Yes, the gameboy had three colours plus transparency on sprites. No, this is not a restriction you need to obey in your competition entry.

You can change the palette with a light switch or when it’s night time so long as there are only four colours on the screen at one time. Are there four colours on the screen? Yes? Congratulations, you abide by the rules. Are there five colours? Do two of the colours blend with opacity to make a new colour? Wow buddy, looks like you’re in more than four colour territory!

‘Four colours maximum’ means ‘four unique colours’. A colour is a unit measured by its unique properties such as hue, saturation and value (or whatever other colour system you subscribe to). You could have red, blue, green and yellow on your screen, but ‘a slightly darker shade of red’ would count as a new colour. You could not have fifty shades of blue and argue that you’re only using ‘one colour’.

Yes, the illusion of a fifth colour counts as a fifth colour. Do you quickly flip the palettes to make an extra colour? Does it have an extra colour on the screen? Welcome to five coloursville friendo, population: you.

No, dithering does not count as an illusion of a fifth colour, as long as you are sticking to the 160x144 resolution.

If you want to argue how your five colours are special, do it in your game jam submission. I’m sure the reviewers (your fellow game jammers) will understand… 👀

If your next question starts with “but what if” the answer is no. No, you can’t do your special idea. It breaks the rules.

“Can I use shaders?” Does your game have four colours? Is the resolution 160x144? Does your game art adhere to the spirit of the jam - i.e. does it look and feel like it’s on a gameboy? Yes? Go ahead.

“But-” Then no.

yes, black is a color. using 4 other colors and black would be 5 colors. you get 4 single color values total to work with. look at the examples on the jam page and check out past game winners at the bottom of the page and Game Boy game screenshots (also linked to under resources) if you need some more examples.

if you look through past jam entries (there are links to these on the jam page near the bottom) you’ll probably get an idea of what is allowed. i believe the original Game Boy could only display the same 4 colors (which appeared as shades of green) and no other colors. so if you want to be as authentic as possible, find a game boy palette (there are more than one because the exact shades of green are kind of debatable) like this one that Antigue Goose posted above. but any of the other palettes linked to above are also acceptable because the rules are any 4 colors, not just what the GB had.

as an example, for my past entries to this jam i’ve used palettes that use 4 different hues rather than them all being the same hue (green) like the original Game Boy. this is allowed, it’s just less authentic.
Snack Slugger, Galactic Pizza, Worm Life

if you’re both on discord, that’s a great way to plan and communicate imo.

yeah, you can totally make more versions of the game after the jam ends (or during it). they just wouldn’t be allowed as an entry if they break the jam rules. :)

yes, you can make changes and upload new version during the jam. once the jam submission window ends, you will no longer be able to upload any fixes until after the rating period is done and results are in. so if you want to fix things post-jam or make a version with more colors and stuff, you’re free to do that.

as it says in the FAQ:

Can I use public domain assets?
No. Music, art and programming must be provided by the people entering the jam. This is to encourage teaming up with other users to make the best game you can!

this would include using any other kinds of assets you didn’t make.

maybe i misunderstood your question though. if you’re asking about other Game Boy consoles like GBA or GB Color, then sure you could make versions if you want, but they would probably break the rules of the jam (like more than 4 colors or maybe the resolution), so would not be acceptable submissions.

if you’re publishing your game on consoles then you probably shouldn’t be putting it in a jam lol. the jam is free to participate in and games should not cost any money to play. it’s rare that you can play console games without buying them.

but yeah, go ahead and port your game to consoles if you want to. we won’t stop you. but as far as a jam submission, it’s probably best to keep it to HTML5 or a Windows build if you want anyone to play and rate your game.

i don’t think there is any default Game Boy UI. i’m not sure what you mean by that. please refer to the FAQ:

What can I work on before the jam?
You are allowed to set up your tools and your game engine. Tools include: palettes, fonts, tracker instruments and code libraries.

if you’re asking about fonts, that is also cleared up in the FAQ:

Can I use a public domain font?
Yes. You do not have to make your own font for this jam.

you already posted a similar message a few days ago! please do not spam.

since this is a game jam, no one should expect to pay for anything. this is not a place to find or advertise for commercial work. i will quote Polyducks addressing this also on the discord server:

All participation in the jam should be free and voluntary. If doing more work is outside of the scope for your time for the jam then leave it out. We don’t want this turning into a commercial space where teams are hired. This is a low-effort jam for fun and portfolios.

i would recommend looking in the Unity documentation, or searching on google. try something like “how to change screen resolution in Unity.” there are also several links to tutorials that should help you make a game for this jam in Unity HERE.