This is a relaxed, no-prize, 4-day game jam for solo developers. The jam is welcoming to beginners, hoping to provide a safe space for people to make things on their own and then share them with others. No teams are allowed for this jam so that people who prefer to work alone, or don't have people around them to team up with, can compete without unfair disadvantage.
Come on in, and let's make some games together...separately...in our own homes.
The theme of the jam is mandatory, but I will not be the arbiter of whether or not your interpretation of it is valid. I will just assume you did your best to creatively incorporate it into your game. Your adherance to the theme will not be judged and there will be no consequences for being "too far off theme". Use the theme to inspire you and give you enough constraint to spark your creativity without worrying too much about it.
At the start of the jam, a short game description will be published for you to try and match. The description will be vague enough to allow for creative interpretations, while providing you with limitations to challenge yourself when creating the game. The description can limit anything about your game, including the genre, the feel of the game, or something about the main mechanic. An example of a description could be "A chaotic game about apples", "Skill-based game about juggling", or "Can you stop the apocalypse?".
In a somewhat complementary way to the theme, following the description isn't strictly mandatory, but how well the description matches your game (or rather how well your game matches the description) is one of the four categories based on which others will rate your game.
At the start of the jam, a bonus challenge will be announced along with the description. This will a simple limitation you can try to stick to for an extra challenge. This challenge can be a technical constraint, an art direction, or something similar. Taking on this extra challenge is voluntary, but it can bring you a small amount of points in the Bonus category of scoring (more below). Since this is a friendly jam where scoring doesn't matter all that much, this bonus is mostly there for you to challenge yourself if you like a little extra spice in your jam.
The rules of the jam are mostly based on two specific ideas: Fairness, and trying new things. When you're deciding whether something you're thinking of doing fits the rules, you can always try to think about it in term of these two ideas.
This jam is for solo developers. You can consult the game with others freely, but you should work on it alone, so that everyone has the same conditions.
While it's not allowed to have other people helping you with your game, it is perfectly okay to use 3rd party assets, as long as they are freely available online. Try to keep the overall idea of a level playing field in mind. Avoid using things only you have access to, such as assets a friend made for you, or ones that are online behind a paywall (for example if you bought them to use in another project).
You can use any game engine you want for your videogames. A soft assumption for game jams is that you will create a videogame, but if you prefer to make a different style of game, feel free to do so as well. Essentially anything that can be "played" counts, although you should keep in mind that you might have problems sticking to the bonus challenge or getting people to play your game if you make something other than a videogame. However don't let that stop you from sharing it with us.
Generative AI isn't allowed for this jam. You can freely use AI during the development of your game for searching, consulting with it, helping you debug, etc. You aren't allowed to use it to generate any art, code, or any other part of your game. The game jam is about making games, not having games made for you.
This rather standard rule says that you are not allowed to submit a game you didn't make specifically for this jam. The idea of the jam is to encourage you to make something new, not to submit your old things. This is also encouraged by the fact that your game will be judged based on how well it fits the secret description.
I've seen jams specifically point this out in their other rules, so I will make a quick note of it here. Obviously you shouldn't break the law with your game. So don't use assets you don't have the right to use, don't include hate speech, simply adhere to all the laws and guidelines that stand above these rules.
The rating of the game will be based on four categories voted on by the submitters, plus an extra bonus category that will be rated algorithmically.
The first category will be scoring how well your game matches the given description.
When you vote, please remember that the rating is a scale. If the game only kind of matches, give a middle rating. Only give a one star if the game doesn't match the description at all.
The second category adresses how fun the game is to play. How engaging are the mechanics? How good of a gameplay loop does the game have? Simply rate your enjoyment of the playable part of the game.
The third category is about originilaity. How novel of an idea does the game have? How clever and unexpected is its theme or description implementation?
When voting, reward games that reject the obvious option and the straightforward interpretation of the theme and description. Games which stand out by being unique. Game jams are about trying new things, so let's encourage each other to stretch our creativity.
The last voted category will address the feel of the game. This includes the visuals and sound, but also the immersion of it. Games have different genres so this category can include different things based on where the creator has taken it. For example if the game is story-driven, also judge the story.
Essentially this category includes everything that isn't directly connected to the gameplay mechanics.
This score is not voted on, but assigned algorithmically. It combines several bonus aspects of the game as well as the authors behaviour.
I was looking for a name for the jam that would capture its main idea. The idea that each of us is an individual solo developer, who gets the freedom to make what they want on their own, but while each of us creates alone, we are here together and we share the games,
My favourite moments in a friendship, or any other relationship, were always sharing the silence. Every person working on their own thing, without really interacting much, but being together while we do it. The imagery of a valley of lanterns captures this feeling as best as I could come up with.
Every person having a lantern in the darkening valley, lighting up the immediate area around them, but when you look up, you see many other dots in the valley, and you realise that each one of them is just like you. Even if you dont interact or talk to them, you know each of them is doing the same thing that you are. That you are not alone. That we are all together, each in our own personal sphere of light.
(This game jam is in no way related to the movie I've never seen and whose existence I didn't even know about until googling the name to make sure it isn't clashing with anything)
