Did you miss out on Ludum Dare? Looking for another Game Jam that you can participate in and see amazing developers push the limits of their creativity into a small window of time? Then welcome to Game Maker’s ToolKit 2020!
Game Maker’s Toolkit Game Jam is a 48-hour contest that has developers of any age, any location, and any team size (including solo) coming together to build a game. Each team makes a game in the time limit, starting at 7 PM UTC on July 10th, ending on Sunday, July 12th, at 7 PM UTC. You will have to submit the game before the contest window closes. The game can be created in any game engine you want. But there has to be a binary that either runs on Windows or browsers. The public will judge the games themselves in the categories of “Fun,” “Originality,” “Presentation,” which then get calculated to an “Overall” rating. Mark, the founder of the competition, will later play the top 100 rated games in the overall category and pick the top 20 favorites as well as being part of the showcase on a youtube video. The game itself must follow the theme that is selected on the day of the contest. Then you take the theme and flip it on its head and try to be original with the idea. There are over thirteen thousand entries into the event as it currently stands. Perhaps you can make your game reach the top 20? Come Join and test your skills.
There is a little bit more that should be aware of, games submitted must not contain nudity, hateful language or visuals. You should create most of the code during the Jam. There can be some code like controller support and small things bundled with assets you get from the store. But otherwise, it should be created during the Jam. Use your best judgment. You can use assets from various asset stores if you feel like you do not have the artist touch for this timeframe, and that is okay. You just make sure you mark that in your submission to highlight games that have art created during the Jam to show off the efforts of those that went to that level in such a short timeframe.
What Is The Jam
If you have never joined a Game Jam before or you have seen them but wanted to know more information on it, then you are in the right place. A Game Jam is all about testing your ability to create a game with the constraint of time applied. This time constraint forces the developer to cut scope and push only for what is essential. Some developers who are more experienced will be able to accomplish more than you the first time you try out for a jam. That is perfectly okay! You will learn extremely fast in a short amount of time. It is also not meant to be a way to learn game development. It is intended to be a way to challenge game developers to go faster and see what can be done in a short amount of time. But use it as you see fit, even if you say if I finish tremendous and if not, I learned a lot then more power to you.
Many Game Jams have different criteria, but nearly all of them have shorter time limitations. Game Maker’s ToolKit is 48 hours starting July 10th at 7 PM UTC. The contest primarily runs out of the UK, but everyone in the world can participate. It might be harder for some of the developers in the US, considering it starts in the afternoon on Friday, but I am sure it will be a success for anyone that participates. A great addition is there is a discord available for everyone wanting to join. You can enter it here for the duration of the contest. The theme will be announced here, on Twitter, the itch.io site, and everywhere they can share it online. You shouldn’t miss it. I will also retweet it and post it on my social accounts as well.
Joining The Jam
Joining the Jam is easy. The hard part is knowing what your team composition is. Are you going to be the solo developer taking the entire time to develop the game? Do you have a few friends coming up with the perfect team and assigning roles already? Anyway you set it up is excellent, there is no max team size, in fact with thirteen thousand entries in already thinking about what you can bring to the table to make it in the top 100, and even top 20. To join the Jam, simply go to the itch.io page and click Join Jam, https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-2020. You will want to register an account if you don’t have one already. Then your game will be submitted under that account.
To submit your game into the Jam follow the following steps.
- On the Jam Page https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-2020
- Click the “Submit Your Project” button
- And Click “Upload Game”
- Fill out the form fields.
- Title, URL naming on itch, tagline, etc
- Once this has been completed you will then have to go back to the Jam Page https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-2020
- Click “Submit Your Project” again, and this time you select the game that you just created from a drop-down box
- Answer questions about whether you did the art and sound audio yourself or if they were done via asset store downloads.
- Submit.
Just in case…
- If you want to ensure your project was entered into the Jam
- Go to your project page for the game you uploaded.
- and in the top right hand corner you should see a badge/icon that says “Submission to GMTK Game Jam 2020”
Judging The Games
After you have poured your blood, sweat, and tears into developing this game in under the time limit and go through the upload process, you are then entering the realm of voting. Each game submitted is rated on “Fun,” “Originality” and “Presentation” these scores then get calculated in some manner (It’s either totaled or some calculation of weights in an attempt also to thwart cheaters and give proper credit). This calculated “Overall” rating is based on the public playing the games. Everyone can vote by going to the Game Jam Page and rating the games. Last year the voting period lasted for about a week. I would expect this voting to continue a similar time or longer if the number of entries requires more time for everyone to vote.
Last year’s theme was “Only one,” and you can check out the fantastic games created in the 48 hours here. You can feel inspired by how these developers took the idea and changed it to be more original and did not make the game mechanic match in the traditional sense. But also be aware of what your limits are. Do not create scope creep and create something you can not finish in time. Start small, extremely small. Build out that primary short mechanic in a little demo. Once you have locked it down, expand. Add some more helpful graphics and more complicated experiences. Be time conscious and make the primary elements meet the requirements for judging.
Rules And Restrictions
Let’s discuss some rules about this Jam. Anyone can enter, and any age and anywhere. The game itself must be a Windows binary or browser-based game to ensure it can be voted. There is an allowance for VR, but you have to be aware that it limits the availability for others to play the game and might not get you in the top list. You can use any art and audio asset that you wish from the asset store. Your team should have written the code itself. You can not just download code assets from the store and submit it by tying the pieces together with minimal code. That is against the spirit of the Jam. If you want to get more information on this rule, you can check out the discord where there are even more FAQs and Mods that can answer specific questions. Just be aware, that even though the Jam has no age limit discord does. You must be 13 or older to join this particular discord server.
You can use any game engine that you want, that can be Unity, Godot, Construct, Game Maker, and even RPG Maker. It just has to generate windows build or browser build for players to play the game easily. The guys over at Yo Yo Games also created an offer for people to use an exclusive license just for this event. Use the following link provided by GMTK to use Game Maker Studio 2 for free during the Jam.
As stated above, do not create anything that contains nudity or hateful language or visuals. Let’s not bring any of that into a fantastic and positive event. Anything created during the event is still your property, and the people behind GMTK have no rights or ownership of your game. By submitting your game, you give the right for the GMTK YouTube channel to show your game.
Support Game Maker ToolKit
Game Maker ToolKit sponsors the Jam every year, but in between also does in-depth reviews for games. I believe in making strong communities with Indie Developers, and Mark behind GMTK has done that. The more we support each other, the more we can help each other grow and be recognized, creating a stronger Indie Game community. Check out their social and links below. Let me know if you participate in Jam and how it goes!
Join their Discord – https://discord.com/invite/ewRbsQS
Itch Game Jam Site – https://gmtk.itch.io/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gamemakerstk
Game Maker’s Tool Kit Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GameMakersToolkit
Thank you all so much for checking out this article, if you thought it was helpful or interesting, then please feel free to share it with others.