Could you explain with a bit more detail what you mean by "a narrative"? Maybe examples of games that would not qualify as having narratives, and examples of games that do could help. Thanks!
When we say “with narrative,” we mean that the videogame should tell a short story in some way. For example: scattered notes, cutscenes, dialogues, environmental storytelling, voice-over, memories, flashbacks... Any method you find interesting so that the game you present is not based solely on gameplay mechanics.
Games that would not qualify: Tetris, Pong, Geometry Dash, or any game focused only on skill or mechanics, with no story, background, or context.
Hope it helps :)
To add:
The ideal aspect of a game is that the story unfolds as you play, rather than simply going from point A to point B and having a section of the story explained at the end.
What you do with the game mechanics can help explain the story and therefore advance the narrative. For example, making activating or deactivating a button an important decision.
The narrative can be part of the environment, of the level itself. If a "Geometry Dash" game were made, the ideal would be for the environment to tell the story.
The problem we have with Geometry Dash, as Caliebre points out, is that it relies on skill and a lot of trial and error, so even if the game can be finished in 5 minutes... it could take much longer to reach the end. This doesn't mean there can't be trial and error, but in this type of game, it's excessive.
If the game can be completed from beginning to end in 5 minutes or less, but due to skill, it actually took 8 minutes... well, that's not a big deal. But we don't want to spend 20 minutes iterating to finish the game.
I hope I've clarified things a bit more!You are asking for a short game with a story. I'm still not sure if it's clear enough, I fear that you might have a lot of game submitted that might skip that requirement since the name of the jam is "the shorter the better" which goes a bit against making a game based on story.
What kind of game would qualify then?
I'm going to rewrite the basics a bit to make it clearer.
The idea is to make a game that can be played in 5 minutes or less. Within that limitation, it should explain something. The important thing is that the narrative drives the game, but if not, there should be some story. We're not going to get too serious about how the story is told. What we want to avoid is it becoming a game jam of "purely mechanical" games with nothing to say.
We also don't mind if there's little "gameplay" (like in a "choose your own adventure" or a "choices matter" game).What kind of game might be excluded? Well, honestly, I couldn't say. Because you can tell a story with a small puzzle.
When the film industry talks about "a short film," officially they mean a 3-minute movie (although this is often exceeded). It seems like you can't tell a story in 3 minutes... but you can.
If the game lasts, say... 8 minutes, well, that's fine too. In the end, "The Shorter The Better" is just that... "the better." We insist on the 5-minute limit because we want it to be a challenge.
So... what kinds of games qualify? That said, well, any kind.
I think I'll write an FAQ section.