The theme of the jam is:
Now That's What I Call A Theme!
Pick your own theme that provides the perfect flavor for your game! Craft your entry with any theme of your choice. The more you lean into it-, the more obvious-, and the more integrated-, the better your theme score will be.
In addition to the theme, more judging score can be gained via:
The Perfect Loop
Focusing on tight, fun, iterative gameplay. Remember the short and sweet gameplay loop mechanics of the classics.
Let your creativity run wild, create the most addictive loop, embrace freedom!
The prize pool has been increased to $250+!
Less than one week to go until the theme is revealed and the jam begins!
Looking for a team or just want some feedback or talk gamedev? Join the Gamedev Monastery Discord
Do you remember the heyday of game development? Unbridled enthusiasm. A new frontier. New technologies. Passionate men pushing the medium further and further, pursuing their own visions instead of bending to the demands of corporations, trends, or checklist design.
Those days are still here. They were never a moment in time. They are a state of mind.
Revive the spirits of the good old days without being revisionist. Utilize new tech to make good games, combine the best of the past, present, and future of game development.
Just make great fun games unshackled from the suffocation of modernity and "The Message"
The Back in the Game Jam features a total prize pool of at-least $250, split between top three submissions.
Prizes will be distributed via either PayPal, Itch.io, or Steam Gifts at your request.
The official channel for the jam is hosted by the Gamedev Monastery.
A Discord server for Gamedevs who tread their own path. Join us, find a team and share your progress and approach with others!
The judges are made up of experienced game developers and gamers.
Criteria
Theme
How well you hit the theme, Now That's What I Call A Theme!, and theme gimmick The Perfect Loop.
Gameplay
How well designed your gameplay loop or loops are.
Polish
This is all about the execution, consistency, art direction, and presentation. A small highly polished game will score higher than a mess of random assets.
Since we want unshackled game development, there are not many. But we have a few in place:
No AI-Generated assets. Make your own stuff even if it's just colored rectangles. This is about the craft.
No asset flips. See above. Original work is strongly encouraged.
Games should be stream-friendly.
If joining as a team you need to assign one person to receive the prize. It is up to you to distribute the prize within the team.
Games must be made for the jam.
We reserve the right to disqualify submissions.
