About the Battle for Train Jam

Students will create a game over the course of a school week to demonstrate their jamming and cooperation abilities. This is to determine a sufficiently capable team that we will feel confident in sending off on a train.

To register your team for this event, follow the link below:

Team Registration Form

A free space to upload files (or retrieve AIE packages) is below:

AIE BFTJ OneDrive

What's the Train Jam?

Train Jam is a 52-hour (hopefully) game jam spanning across the entirety of the journey from Chicago to San Francisco. A pre-jam social occurs on the night before as a warmup for social funtimes. For more information, check the official Train Jam website at trainjam.com.

Students participating in Train Jam are eligible for mentorship and portfolio interviews from volunteer industry members that will also be on the train.

AIE Sponsorship for Students

We will be offering to send three students to Chicago to participate in the trainjam.

Here's a quick list of what AIE would cover:

• Coach ticket for Train Jam
• GDC Expo Pass (as a part of Train Jam's Student Ambassador Program)
• Flight from Seattle to Chicago
• Lodging while in Chicago
• Flight from San Francisco to Seattle

The student will be responsible for food and lodging in San Francisco during that period of time.

AIE Sponsorship Competition

In order to avoid any pretenses of favoritism or unfairness, we opted to go with a mini-competition from which the team with the "best" game will be shipped to Chicago for Train Jam.

What? Battle for Train Jam
When? October 16-18^th, 2019 from 9am to 4pm
Where? AIE Seattle's Classrooms

The classrooms will be open according to our typical operating hours, which are from 9am to 6pm.

Student teams must register at the registration portal by the deadline.

Competition Rules and Criteria

Rules and Guidelines

• Each team may have up to three competitors.
  • Only competitors from the winning team will be considered for the AIE Sponsorship.
  • One competitor must be from either the Game Programming or the Game Design and Production department.
  • One competitor must be from either the Game Art and Animation or the 3D Animation and VFX for Film department.
  • All competitors must be in good standing with their assessment and hours. (if unsure, check with Student Services)
• Each team is permitted up to two helpers, which can be from any department.
  • Helpers will not be considered for the AIE Sponsorship, but are able to contribute to the team.
• All members, whether competing or helping, must be a second year AIE student in order to participate.
  • The number of Game Programmers on a team should ideally not exceed two in total (inclusive of helpers).
• Submissions must be compromised of work created by members of the competition team during the competition.
  • Tools and libraries are permitted for use, as long as they are available to the public.
  • "Available to the public" is defined as being available for download online, whether free or paid.
  • Competition members may use prior or third party assets as long as they create a derivative work from it.
• Teams must submit all materials used in the creation of the project for review.
• Teams are prohibited from obstructing the efforts of other teams by any means.

Criteria

The games will be judged against the following criteria.

• Gameplay - the interactive and fun factor of the game
• Originality - unique or creative aspects of the game that distinguish it from the rest
• Polish - the care and finishing touches that make a game feel good to play
• Theme - how well the game adheres or integrates the theme into its design

Do we have to make everything from scratch?

The base expectation is that you are going to be creating all of your code and relevant assets from scratch as much as you possibly can. We want to send the most capable team we can, so we need to judge you on what you can do, not what Unity's demo team can create or KenneyNL can provide you.

Derivative works are permitted so long as they pass the bar for compo games set forth by the team over at Ludum Dare. While subjective, you should find yourself in the clear if you have transformed the work in some meaningful manner.

For further clarity, review the article from Ludum Dare and send questions to the organizer (listed below). If there any differences between the Ludum Dare rules and what is displayed on this page, this page will take precedence.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: Can I use tools, such as bfxr, to generate sound effects?

Tools like Unity, FruityLoops, etc., are totally permitted. The limitation on usage mostly pertains to existing assets designed to be used as-is.

For example, if FruityLoops comes with a sample song, you cannot use it directly; you must remix or sample it in a significant manner for it to be consider acceptable.

Q: Can I use base meshes or project templates?

Yes, as long as you transform the prior work into something new and different. You are not permitted to use the asset as-is for the game jam.

Q: Can I use plugins or third-party libraries?

Using third-party code like plugins is acceptable as long as they are publicly accessible. Reusing code from previous projects is acceptable as long as it does not constitute your entire project. The bulk of your project should be authored by you and your team during the game jam.

Publicly accessible includes libraries that you must pay in order to be able to use, though this may change in the future.

All third party works must be licensed appropriately whether paid or not; it must provide for a license that permits you to use it in the development of a game.

Q: Can I use work from my previous projects?

Yes, but only under conditions similar to that of third-party works. You must create derivative works from it (e.g. remix a texture or sound) or build on top of it (i.e. use a framework for a FPS game), but it can't be used alone as-is.

While third party works must be licensed, previous works do not have to be licensed. (This permits the use of personal scripts or starter assets that you personally use in your own work and may not want to share publicly.)

Q: What's the policy on services like Mixamo?

These services exist in a much more gray-area because they are primarily online-only and would not be readily accessible during the actual Train Jam, where Internet access is limited. Your project must make light use of these services.

For example, using animations from Mixamo is permitted but the characters are not. You must disclose the use of this service at the time of submission.

Q: Is this a 24-hour game jam?

No, the classrooms will be closed when the campus closes, which is at 6pm, as per usual.

Q: Can I work from home?

Yes, but we must stress that your health should come first. Although you may work at home at your own discretion, know that the change in format from an 8-hour game jam to a 3-day game jam was done to even out performance differences between students as well as create a healthier event.

Questions and Contact Information

You can get in touch with Terry Nguyen <terry.nguyen@aie.edu> if you have any questions or concerns that you would like to express.