The clocks fall back on November 1st, and one of my favorite game jam challenges years ago was the "0h game jam" (not mine) in which you "make a game in zero hours" during the time when the clocks fell back.
To make things easier for people, this jam runs throughout November 1st (US time). And it isn't just for games; it's for anything you want to make! But the challenge remains similar: you must make the thing within one hour (zero hours, in a way, since "time rewound").
While you have to make your creation in an hour, you are welcome to make the Itch page and submit it outside of that zero-hour window. You made the thing in zero hours, after all! If you finish uploading it late and cannot enter in time, email a link to your creation to BethAndAngelMakeGames@gmail.com. We can add it to the jam late!
Note: PIGSquad is doing a game creation version of this, and they're far bigger than we are, but it's during a very specific time frame. Check their jam page to see if you can enter!
Zero-Hour Creation Rules:
- This jam is open to ALL forms of creations. ANYTHING. If you can upload it to Itch, it belongs. Analog or digital games, artwork, stories, zines, comics, music, literally ANYTHING!
- You MAY submit as many creations as you wish, and can spend one hour on each.
- Creations must be family-friendly (not NSFW, no heavy swearing or gore, etc.) and cannot contain hate or bigotry toward marginalized groups!
- Use content warnings on your Itch pages and the work itself if you cover anything that deserves them.
- Items must be released on Itch during the jam period. No previously released items, please :D
- Creations must be HUMAN-MADE. We believe games, zines, music, and artwork are forms of expression, arts, and those require a person to capture their own interests and experiences when designing. The use of AI is not allowed. It's infinitely better to make something you consider crappy than to tell an AI to make something for you. 🧡💜
Some Ideas:
If you need a theme for your creation, here are some optional themes.
- Well, the whole jam is about time, so... "time"?
- The jam is also about rewinding time, so "going back" or "rewinding"? Maybe even "looping" or "second time around"?
- "Zero" itself is an interesting thing. It's not just a number, it's the lack of something entirely. So perhaps "null", "void", "detriment", "nothing", and "emptiness"?
- And "hour" is there too: maybe you can make something that's specifically intended to be explored within an hour? Or within a minute?
- Finally, "challenge", since I'm using each word from the title of this challenge. 😅 You can try something new, push yourself into creating something in an entirely different medium, or take on any other sort of challenge. Are you normally wordy? Limit yourself to 200 words. Never make your own art? Try that today!
An Optional Badge:
If you'd like to use the below image, feel free! It can be used in your creation, on the Itch page, or when promoting it. The image is entirely free to use in any way, including editing it.
