Kiosune Studio Jam #1: First Tales

Kiosune Studio is brand new — and nobody has made a game with it yet.

That's the whole point. This jam exists to put the first games on the board. Whatever you build in the next two weeks becomes part of the tool's very first library, and there's no back catalog to compete with. Every entry is a first.

What is Kiosune Studio?

A free, no-code visual novel maker with a pixel-art spin. It ships with a built-in pixel editor (layers, animation, import), customizable UI themes, and multi-actor scene building — so you can draw your cast, stage them, and write the branching script without touching a line of code. Runs in your desktop browser and on Android.

👉 Get it free: https://mellotoddtv.itch.io/kiosune-studio
💬 Discord: discord.gg/FSBxgyznGS

The theme

There is one, and it's optional — revealed here when submissions open on September 14. Use it if it sparks something. Ignore it if you already have a story burning a hole in your pocket. Nobody gets marked down for skipping it.

Rules

1. Your game must be made with Kiosune Studio. That's the one hard rule.
2. Build during the jam. Sept 14 → Sept 28. Planning, sketching, and outlining beforehand are fine — assembling the game isn't.
3. Solo or team, your call. No size limit. Credit everyone.
4. Bring your own assets or make them fresh. Pre-made art, music, and fonts are allowed as long as you have the right to use them. Credit your sources. AI-generated assets are allowed but should be disclosed on your submission page.
5. Keep it PG-13. No NSFW entries, no hate content. Dark, sad, and unsettling are all fine — this is a story tool.
6. Any length. A ten-minute vignette is as welcome as a two-hour branching epic. Finished beats ambitious.

How judging works

Entries are rated by fellow entrants on five criteria: Overall, Story & Writing, Visuals & Presentation, Sound & Music, and Use of the Tool. Overall decides the top three. Then there's Kiosune's Pick — one entry I fell for personally, chosen by hand, regardless of where it landed in the scores.

Voting runs Sept 28 – Oct 5, and only people who submitted can vote — so play your neighbors' games.

What you win

No cash, no keys — this one's about visibility:

• 🥇🥈🥉 Top three and 🦊 Kiosune's Pick get a permanent community spotlight on the Kiosune Studio page, showcasing your game to everyone who downloads the tool.
• Winners also get a winner's banner to put on their own itch.io page.
• Every finished entry gets played on stream.

New to visual novels? Good.

Kiosune Studio was built so you don't need an engine background. If you get stuck, post in the jam community board or hop in the Discord — I read both, and if something in the tool is fighting you, I'd genuinely rather hear about it during the jam than after. Bug reports from this jam go straight into the next update.

Come make the first ones. 🌳🏬🦊