What?

Hey hi hello folks! A new year has begun and there's still plenty of time before the convention season takes over, so in the meantime, let's make some wonderful and silly games together! :D

THE THEMES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON UPF FRIDAY, JANUARY 27TH!

THE THEMES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

EAST VS WEST

ONE BIG CHOMP

PICK ONE (OR TWO) (OR NONE)!

START: January 27th

END: February 5th (submit your game before that day is over!)

(submit your game before that day is over!) There are TWO special themes picked from GB staff and community suggestions!

picked from GB staff and community suggestions! Follow one theme, or both! (but if you don't want to follow either that's okay too!)

The game should also be somehow related to Giant Bomb

Do what you want, but please try not to be too crude or offensive -

be a Giant Bomber, not a Giant Bummer!

So that's January 27th to February 5th - a little over 9 days total, which includes two weekends. Hopefully that's enough to let as many people as possible make some really cool, really silly games!

The Themes

The list started being put together when I asked GB folks to submit themes during the 2015 PAX Prime panel, and I've since tracked down everyone else to get a complete set. Dan is off cooldown and has submitted a new one, so there's a chance his idea will be picked again! Here are the themes; two will be chosen!

The Community: Johnny V

Jeff: East VS West <<<SELECTED THEME

Dan: Waluigi's first official Nintendo game

Vinny: Italian Pac-Man

Jason: Babies

Alex: FMV

Brad: Dave Lang's Ideal Game

Drew: (on a 1-jam cooldown)

Rorie: One Big Chomp <<<SELECTED THEME

How?

Check out the Giant ROM Boot Camp! Resources are listed there, both in terms of programs and free assets you can use! If you have any suggestions, post 'em and I'll update accordingly.

Also, I've made a Team-Up Sheet if you want to find fellow jammers! Any questions? Post 'em here and we'll help!

Danielle Riendeau at Waypoint just posted a neat article on how to get started making games if you want some pointers!

You can also totally submit a game by yourself if you want! :D No pressure to make a masterpiece or anything - we're all making silly things out of love and inspiration. <3 Every game counts!

Where?

OFFICIAL JAM PAGE ON ITCH DOT IO

Like the last time, I'm hosting the jam on itch.io, which has a terrific game jam feature! Everybody will be able to post their creations there, add them to the jam, and enter their team's details at the same time. There's even an integrated ranking system that I will fill with arbitrary and silly parameters!

Are There Fabulous Prizes?

I WILL TRY TO FIND PARTICIPATION PRIZES FOR ALL TEAMS WHO SUBMIT A GAME!

Probably Steam codes for games. But maybe Something More for the games that stand out in some way! Who knows?

The scoring system for the voting round has also been revised; Themeness is out (since themes are optional) and has been replaced by Concept, which is a more general evaluation of the idea behind the game.

WHAT NOW?

Put your team together if you don't already have one, and make a ridiculous game!

Happy jamming! :D