Kajam rules 0

Wan • 6 years ago 

Kajam are month-long competitions in which people make a video game from scratch, focusing each time on a different, specific aspect of game making. They are perfect to learn, experiment and improve your gamedev skills.

Divisions

Anyone can enter in any of the following divisions:

  • Solo, in which you make a whole game alone ;
  • Team, in which any number of persons can gather to make a game ;
  • Unranked, for those not interested in the competitive aspect of the event.

Everyone has around three weeks to submit their games.

Rankings

After the jam, Solo and Team divisions will be ranked separately through community voting: any person who entered the event will be able to play, rate and comment other people's games for one week, until the final results are released. On each game you play, you will get to rate a single aspect of game development, which is different every time!

Unranked games won't get ratings but can expect as much plays & feedback as the others.

What is allowed/not allowed?

Solo/Team divisions

Unless a particular Kajam states otherwise, the following rules apply:

  • Tools: All software is allowed without restriction. It is recommended though that your game engine supports targetting either HTML5, Windows or Linux, to make sure most contestants can play it.
  • Code reuse: You are allowed to use/reuse any outside library or personal code made prior to the event, or code bits found from sources like StackOverflow or blogs. You can also prepare your project by initializing the sources in advance. However, you cannot work on a game you started before the event.
  • Audio/Graphical asset reuse: You are free to reuse any assets as long as you respect their licenses.
  • Post-jam changes: During the game rating phase, you are not allowed to add any features, assets or contents to your game. While you're supposed to have properly tested your game, stuff happens, so we do allow to:
    • Package or improve the packaging of your game ;
    • Port your game to other platforms ;
    • Fix bugs ;
    • Fix balance issues or annoyances but only if they're so terrible that people can't properly finish your game.

Unranked division

Since there is no ratings involved, the rules are much more relaxed. The only rules are:

  • You cannot work on a game you started before the event.
  • Make sure to respect the licenses of the assets you grab.

For best feedback, it is advised to let people know what you did/did not make during the jam.

In case of doubts…

In those cases where you really want to do something, but it's unclear whether you can, or not doing it just seems unfair, do it, and mention what you did in your game description. After all, this is a completely informal competition, there's no prizes involved, we're just here to make games and have fun!

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