It is always challenging to find an engaging theme. It should provide a solid foundation for game ideas while remaining versatile enough to accommodate diverse concepts. We believe we've discovered that  with our theme:  

"THE LONG WAY HOME"

Some inspiration: The theme THE LONG WAY HOME is about journeys, detours, obstacles, and everything that can happen between where you are and where you want to be.

An adventure or exploration game could send the player across strange lands, dangerous roads, distant planets, or unfamiliar places while they slowly find their way back. A strategy or management game might focus on managing fuel, supplies, time, or morale while choosing between risky shortcuts and safer routes.

A puzzle game could challenge players to find creative ways around blocked paths, while an action or survival game might turn every detour into a new threat or unexpected encounter. A narrative game can explore the people you meet along the way, how the journey changes you, or even what "home" really means.

You can also take the theme in a more abstract direction. Home could be a place, a person, a memory, another world, or simply a feeling. Maybe the player knows exactly where home is, but getting there is anything but simple.

A long journey does not require a huge world. One road, one spaceship, one train, or one difficult trip can be enough to make the journey home memorable.

You can always discuss, brainstorm and exchange ideas with your fellow participants @ our Discord Server.

Best of luck to everyone and enjoy this Game Jam!!

This is the 17th Game Jam organized by GoedWare.  Our goal is to let you practice coding, create and finish a game in around 10 days and also learn from the experience, expand your skills and above all have fun and enjoy making your own game and playing other participants' games.

GoedWare:

Link to previous Jams  #1  #2  #3  #4  #5  #6  #7  #8  #9  #10  #11  #12  #13  #14  #15  #16 |  ZERO UI |  HALLOWEEN  #2 |  CUTSCENE  #2|  LIMITED COLOR |  LIMITED SHAPES | BOSS BATTLE

Rules & Requirements

• Open to All: Anyone, regardless of experience, is welcome to participate!
• Itch.io Account Required: An itch.io account is needed to join the jam and submit your entry.
• Engine Flexibility: You can use any engine or framework you like! For example: Unity, Godot, Unreal, GameMaker, etc. You’re also welcome to build your own engine if you prefer😉.
• Submission Deadline: You cannot edit your submission after the deadline, so submit your game a few hours early to address any last-minute issues.
• Team Participation: Teams are allowed, but we recommend keeping them to 4 members or fewer, as larger teams can be challenging to manage in 10 days. (Prizes are awarded to the team as a whole, not individual members).
• Multiple Entries: If you have the time and can manage it, you are welcome to submit multiple entries.
• Music and Fonts: Any music must be royalty-free or copyright-free and properly credited. Fonts from the internet can be used as long as you have the appropriate licenses.
• Assets: You may use assets you already own, such as those from the Unity Asset Store or Unreal Marketplace. Ensure that all assets are properly licensed and that you have permission to use them. Avoid infringing on copyrights or trademarks.
• No NSFW Content: Games must not contain nudity, hateful language, or offensive visuals.
• Fair Voting: Any attempts to manipulate voting will result in removal from the jam.
• Fair Play & Organizer Decisions: If there is a reasonable basis to suspect vote manipulation, cheating, rule violations, or other unfair behavior, the organizers may investigate and take appropriate action, including removing votes, disqualifying an entry, or removing a participant from the jam. In unclear or disputed cases, the organizers will make the final decision based on the information available and what is reasonably necessary to protect the fairness and integrity of the jam.
• AI Assistance: AI tools may assist with coding, but the majority of the code must be your own work.
• DEVLOG (optional): You are encouraged to create a devlog as part of your submission. A devlog is a great way to share your game development journey and help others learn! This can be a blog, a video, your daily schedule of the jam, some text or a short story telling us how you made the game, what difficulties you had during the jam and how you solved them.
  What to Include in Your Devlog:
  • Your process: How did you make your game?
  • Challenges: What difficulties did you face, and how did you overcome them?
  • Key mechanics: Explain your game’s most important features and how you implemented them.
  • Lessons learned: Share any milestones or insights you think others can learn from.
  Where to Share It:
  • Add your devlog directly to your itch.io game project page.
  • Provide a link in your submission to an external blog, video, or other format.
  Why Create a Devlog?
  Creating a devlog is optional, but it makes your submission stand out and helps the community grow by sharing knowledge and inspiration. Plus, participants who create a devlog will be eligible for a special prize (see Prizes).

Submission & Judging Criteria

All entries will be judged by other participants of the jam, so that includes you (hopefully)!

The categories the games are rated in are:

• Gameplay / Fun / Engagement: Is the game fun, accessible, engaging, and does it provide a smooth experience?
• Art Style / Visuals: How cool, beautiful, or eye-catching the game looks.
• Audio / Sound Design: How good the music and sound effects are, and if they make the game feel even better. Do they enhance the theme.
• Theme: How does the game interpret and use the theme.
• Devlog: How insightful and educational was the log of the developer(s).

There will be a Judge/Jury Ranking where our panel will evaluate submissions based on personal preference, artistic quality, and gameplay experience. The jury panel will help balance any unusual voting patterns to ensure a fair outcome.

After the jam, a 10-day rating period allows participants to play and rate each game. Remember to leave constructive feedback. This is more helpful than just a rating and helps other participants discover your game! 😊

Note: To be eligible for prizes, each game needs at least 10 ratings. Playing, commenting and rating others' entries will also increase the chances of your game receiving ratings.

In our game jams, voting is restricted to submitters only. This decision was made after some teams in previous jams downvoted all competing entries. Team members are still welcome and encouraged to leave comments of course.

*We reserve the right to investigate suspected vote manipulation and remove manipulated votes or disqualify entries where appropriate. In disputed or unclear cases, the organizers’ decision is final.
**Minimum rating requirements may be adjusted based on the number of participants.

Prizes

Yes, this Game Jam will also have prizes for the winners 😊. These prizes are made available by our sponsor and organizer GoedWare.

Let's start by saying that if you press that join button and upload a game before the deadline, you are already a winner! Having fun while creating and finishing your game project is an achievement in itself! That experience is more valuable than money, but we do have some real prizes for the winners also 😉.

We have a public vote with prizes and we also have a jury ranking.

Public Voting

• #Overall winner: The overall winner will receive a $100 gift card!* + Eternal Glory of winning the Game Jam😁!
• #Runner-up: The runner-up will get a $25 gift card.
• #Gameplay / Fun / Engagement: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Art Style / Visuals: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Audio / Sound Design: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Theme: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Devlog (optional): The most insightful, informative & educational Devlog will receive a $100 gift card.
  *The Devlog category will be manually ranked by the Jury and not the participants. It is NOT a required part of the Jam if you want a chance to win overall prizes. The deadline of the devlog is also a couple of days after the game submission period. So you can add it later and focus on your game during the jam.

Jury Ranking Prizes

• #1: The winner will get a $250 gift card + $75 cash prize sponsored by Farclip¹| Total value $325
• #2: The runner-up will get a $125 gift card + $50 cash prize sponsored by Farclip¹ | Total value $175
• #3: Third place will get a $50 gift card + $50 cash prize sponsored by Farclip¹| Total value $100
• #4: $75 cash prize sponsored by Farclip¹
• #5: $50 cash prize sponsored by Farclip¹

• #Gameplay, Fun & Engagement: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Art style & Visuals: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Audio & Sound Design: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.
• #Theme: The winner in this category will receive a $25 gift card.

Special jury category:
#Feedback: Awarded to the participant who provides the most helpful, constructive, and insightful feedback on others’ games. This category values those who go above and beyond with thoughtful comments, tips, and encouragement to help fellow developers improve their games. 

For GoedWare Game Jam #17, we will reward two participants with a $50 gift card each as a thank-you for fostering a positive, supportive community!

One Feedback Award is provided by GoedWare, while the second $50 Feedback Award is generously sponsored by ThinkTea.

Discord

All the winners get a fancy Discord server role 😁.

NOTE:

• Participants will receive an Amazon gift card for the Amazon website that applies to their country. No other gift cards or prizes will be distributed or swapped.
• ¹ Cash prizes sponsored by Farclip are handled and paid directly by Farclip to the winners after the final results have been announced.
• For the record for Brazilians, Madagaskar and Indian. Unfortunately, no gift cards are possible for amazon.com.br & amazon.in and we will give out gift cards for amazon.com online shop.
• Jury ranking prizes will stack with the public prizes.
• Because the organizers already know the theme in advance, we will merely be participators. If one of us gets voted to be winner of a category or the overall winner, prizes will be awarded to the next person instead. 
• The prizes may change a little bit before the Game Jam starts, but will mostly contain the content as it is shown now. Once the Game Jam has started the prizes will not change anymore!

Bonus Prizes from Our Supporting Sponsors

In addition to the main prizes sponsored by GoedWare, we also have bonus prizes generously provided by our supporting sponsors. These sponsors help make the jam even more exciting by offering extra rewards for the participants!

A big thank you to all our supporting sponsors for contributing these additional prizes and helping make this event even better!

Current Supporting Sponsors:

CraftPix.net is an online store and resource specializing in providing high-quality premium and free 2D game assets for game developers, indie studios, and hobbyists.

CraftPix.net will sponsor the following prizes for the top 3 in the public & jury ranking:

• 1-year Craftpix Membership

ThinkTea gives GoedWare Game Jam #17 teams a free shared workspace for planning, boards, asset feedback, video and 3D critique, and real-time collaboration, with no AI.

Access opens two days before the jam and stays fully editable throughout the jam. After the jam, your workspace remains available in read-only mode for another 30 days, so you can export your work or decide whether you want to keep it going.

Start or join a team here: https://thinktea.me/jam/goedware-game-jam-17

ThinkTea is also supporting our community with an additional $50 Feedback Award, allowing us to reward a second participant who goes above and beyond in providing helpful and constructive feedback to other developers.

Farclip is a spatial analysis tool for Unity, Unreal, and Godot developers. It helps developers analyze flow, pacing, movement, sightlines, dead zones, and navigation paths directly in their game scenes.

Farclip is supporting GoedWare Game Jam #17 with a range of additional benefits and prizes:

• Free Farclip access for GoedWare Game Jam #17 participants
  
• 1 year of Farclip Playtest access for the Top 3 in both the Public and Jury rankings
• $300 in additional cash prizes, allowing us to expand the Jury Ranking from a Top 3 to a Top 5 and increase the prizes for the top finishers

Farclip is also sponsoring an additional optional award:

🏆 Best Game Made With Farclip

Participants who choose to use Farclip during the jam can opt in for this special sponsor award. The winner will be selected by the Farclip team and will receive:

• $50 cash prize
• 1 year of Farclip Playtest access

Using Farclip is completely optional and has no influence on the regular Public or Jury rankings.

Following its success in our 5th Anniversary Edition, we’re excited to bring back this fun extra challenge for the jam!

Add an Easter Egg
Include a unique Easter egg in your game—something clever, funny, or surprising. It could be a joke, a secret power-up, a hidden shortcut, or anything else creative. The goal is to fit it seamlessly into your game and leave players with a sense of delight or awe when they discover it.

Share the Fun
We’ll set up a spoiler channel on Discord and a community thread where players can share the Easter eggs they find and their reactions to them. The judges will choose a winner based on these shared experiences.

How to Participate
When submitting your game, include a description of how players can find your Easter egg in the designated field. After the jam, we’ll share this information with everyone so the whole community can enjoy exploring each other’s hidden surprises.

The Prize
What’s the prize? It’s a surprise! But we promise it’ll be something you’ll definitely appreciate! 😁

Tips

In my experience, here is what you need to do if you want to win one of the top spots:

• Make your game easy to understand for new players. This is a super common trap a lot of game jam games fall into. Start thinking about your tutorial or how you want to teach your mechanics right from the beginning!
• Usually it's a good idea to make your game not too hard to win. People spend roughly five to fifteen minutes on each game. In most cases they won't have enough time to reach a super high level of mastery. Keep that in mind when balancing the difficulty.
• Quality over quantity. Keep your game super simple! This is important in this jam but every bit of extra polish can really make your game stand out in a short jam like this.
• Take risk. The winning games are usually those who were brave enough to try something completely new and crazy (while also following the other three tips above).
• Browser games get more plays. If you want more people to actually try your game (and vote on it), consider submitting a WebGL or HTML5 browser version. Many players prefer not to download files during a jam, so browser games tend to get significantly more attention and feedback.
• Resources. Check out the resources thread "Free gamedev resources (art, music , sfx, vfx, models etc.)" in our itch.io community for useful resources that can help you start and can be used for your game.

Obviously there are exceptions to all rules but still, I hope it helps. 😊

FAQ

Also check the latest updated FAQ in our community

Question: What is the theme?
Answer: The theme will be announced when the jam begins.

Question: Does my game have to be a certain format?
Answer: No, but remember that not all users have Windows/Mac/Linux devices. Browser based is a good idea to get as many people playing your game as possible and try to make at least a Windows version.

Question: What assets can I use?
Answer: The vast majority of code must be written during the jam, but you can use whatever art and audio assets you have the legal right to use.

Question: Can I submit a game that I already started on?
Answer: No, it is required that all participants make the entirety of the game in the time provided.

Question: Is there a Discord I can join?
Answer: Yes, click here to join.

LEGAL

• Anything you make during the GoedWare Game Jam is your property. GoedWare claims no rights or ownership of your game.
• Any game submitted to the GoedWare Game Jam may show up in GoedWare YouTube videos, livestreams, social media posts, community posts or websites without your express permission.
• By participating, you confirm that you have the legal right to use all code, assets, music, fonts, tools and other materials included in your game.
• GoedWare reserves the right to remove submissions that contain NSFW content, hateful content, offensive visuals, stolen work, malware, illegal content, spam, vote manipulation or content that does not fit the spirit of the jam.
• Prizes, gift cards and sponsor rewards may be subject to regional availability, platform restrictions, delivery limitations or other conditions outside GoedWare's control.