This jam is now over. It ran from 2023-09-15 12:30:00 to 2023-09-17 14:00:00. View 122 entries

⚠️ BYOG 2023 has ended!! Check out the games now!! ⚠️

Are you ready for that time of the year again? India's oldest and longest-running game jam is back with a bang, with shiny new clothes, just like the IGDC (India Game Developers Conference) 2023.

Get ready for a caffeine-filled weekend to create a game of your dreams, solo or with a team, starting Sept 15, 2023!


What is a BYOG?

BYOG (Build Your Own Game) is an annual game jam where game developers from all over the country come together to make a game within a limited amount of time, based on a set of themes. Starting in 2010, BYOG is the oldest game jam organized every year in India and has a rich history of recognizing and encouraging game development talent from the country. Past winners have gone on to win multiple international awards, launch successful game development companies, and make great games and careers.


When & Where

Anyone can participate online in the comfort of their home, but we encourage local meetups and hangout spots in each city and help you run the same!

  • Jam Starts: 15th September 2023, 1800Hrs
  • Public Voting Begins: TBD
  • Top 10 Announcement: TBD
  • November: Results announced at IGDC


Why Participate?

There are many reasons why you should participate in the BYOG:

  • Create a playable prototype (proof of concept) for one of your concepts in a focused, time-limited sprint.
  • Get your ideas validated and evaluated by an incredibly experienced jury.
  • Get honest, constructive feedback on your ideas.
  • Showcase your skills to the world and add another awesome game to your portfolio.
  • Team up with your friends and foes to celebrate an exciting gamedev weekend.


Format this year?

We are returning to our roots with the tried and tested 48-hour competition format. The jam will start at 6 PM on the 15th of September 2023 and end on the 17th of September 2023 at 6 PM. You will have 48 hours to create an amazing game!


Prizes

Sacrificing your beauty sleep, fixing those pesty bugs on your code, polishing your art and finalizing an idea out of the 100s of suggestions from your teammates - doing all of it to successfully make a game within 48 hours. Now, that’s an achievement in itself.

But, thanks to our awesome sponsors over at IGDC, we have some cherry on top for your game submissions. This year too, we have some pretty sweet cash prizes for our heroic jammers:

First Prize - 1 Lakh INR
Second Prize -75,000 INR
Third Prize - 50,000 INR

Honourable Mention (2 games) - 25,000 INR
Viewer’s Choice - 25,000 INR


The Themes

1. The secret language

2. One day, it will all make sense

3. That's not how it happened

Participants have to use at least one of the themes, but they can use all of them too.

Winners

Jury

This year YOU are the jury.

The Top 3 and the Honourable Mentions will be selected based on itch ratings.
People submitting the games will be able to rate the games. Remember only the submitter will have the option to rate not the contributors. We are using the itch rating system and rating queue.

All the games will be Judged by Chirag Chopra, Vivek Jha, and Yadu Rajiv .

For Viewer's Choice award, we will be playing all the games submitted for BYOG and will picking a winner during the livestream. Itch ratings will not be used for this award. More details will be revealed on the livestream itself. Game livestreams will start from the last week of September 2023.

Livestream will take place at Gamedev.in - YouTube.

Judging Criteria

  • Overall Experience - How was the overall experience of the game?
  • Relevance to Theme - How relevant was the theme of the game?
  • Gameplay - How engaging/fun was the gameplay? Was it interesting, meaningful, etc? 
  • Innovation - Did the game do something new that you may not have seen before?
  • Aesthetics - How aesthetically pleasing was the experience - narrative, visual, audio etc?


Team Up!

Join the Gamedev.in Discord to hang out with fellow jammers and find your teammates.


Our sponsors and supporters

This jam would not be possible without the support of the IndiaGDC conference. If you haven't registered for India's biggest game developer-focused conference, please do so!


>> You need to upload your game to your Itch.io account page before you can submit it to the BYOG 2023 jam page.<<

NOTE: In order to submit your game to Itch.io, your .zip file must be UNDER 1GB. This won't affect most projects, but please be mindful of the size of your game once compressed. If your file is more than 1GB, you may utilize the Butler tool to upload your files to Itch.io. More info on that is here. Also, check out Blendo Itch Uploader, a GUI for uploading projects to Itch.io.


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FAQ

# Is the jam open to everyone or only for folks from India? 
The BYOG is open to anyone who wants to participate in it. The only caveat is that if you win and want to collect cash prizes (if any), you or anyone on your team will need a valid Indian bank account.

# Do we have to register as a team or as an individual for BYOG? 
You need to have a valid Itch.io ID and should have signed up for the jam before the submission is due. Only one individual in the team needs to join the jam on Itch. However, it will be useful to have other members registered on Itch, as you can add them to your submitted game as contributors. 

# Do I need to be on Discord? 
All communication during the jam will be via the Discord channel #byog on Discord.gamedev.in. So yes, you need to be there. 

# What is the maximum number of members I can have in my team? 
You can participate solo or in a team, with a maximum of 5 members. 

# Can I submit multiple entries to the jam? 
Yes, you can submit as many entries to the jam as you want. 

# What platforms are allowed for the submission? 
We prefer Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, as these will be readily available to the Jury. But if you want to build for any other platform, drop us a message on Discord, and we will see if we can arrange the same for the Jury. No promises though! 

# Can I use assets or code from the asset store or use assets/code I've created before?
Yes, you can use open-source art or previously created assets (art, music, code, etc.) for this jam or assets from asset stores. You can use anything you legally have the right to use to make a game for this jam. 

# Can I use generative AI to create code, art, or music for me?

This year we're asking that you do not use generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney while making your game. All the code, art, music, written text, and so on should be made by a human, and you shouldn't use these tools to brainstorm or provide help. This includes the artwork on your game's page and thumbnail.

The jam moderators cannot advise you individually on what code or assets you can use, including the use of AI, so if in doubt, be cautious and make your own stuff!

# How will you let us know if we have won?
You are required to share your Discord username along with your submission. We will reach out to you via #byog on Discord.gamedev.in. 

# What is the last date for joining BYOG?
We recommend joining the jam before it starts. But you can join the jam anytime before it ends on September 17th, 2023, at 6:00 PM. 

# Will we have public voting this year?
There will be public voting this year.

# How do I ensure my submitted game doesn't get disqualified for any reason?
It is your responsibility as a participant to ensure the submitted game is in a playable state and that the game page on Itch has all the required information for the Jury to play and test the game. We will automatically disqualify a game without any prior intimation if: 

  1. The submission doesn't have a playable build attached to it.
  2. The attached build contains malware, spyware, crypto miners, or other malicious programs that harm a computer or a device.
  3. The submission contains pornographic, tasteless, discriminatory,  disrespectful, or hate speech content, either as text or media.
  4. The submission is a duplicate or a copy of another submission.  

# Can I make non-digital games for the BYOG?

The short answer is yes, but with some constraints. The BYOG will only accept print-and-play downloadable games as submissions. The reason for this restriction is primarily because our jury/voters are located across the world, and it is not possible for us (and unfair for us to ask you) to ship the games to them in the short judging duration. Going forward, we will be exploring more options on how to be more inclusive. We hope you get to jam with us and do fun stuff.


# Are game mods, TTRPGs, and other similar formats allowed?

You can submit a mod, pnp game, ttrpg, etc., but it's your responsibility to make sure you can upload it to Itch and provide sufficient information about how to play. In the case of mods, you need to make sure that you can legally distribute the required assets. Remember that there is no guarantee that anyone will download, print, or buy a base copy of a game to play your game. And we can't guarantee that these entries will appear on our live streams.

# Can I see games made in the past BYOGs?

# I have more questions, how can I reach out to the organizers?
Join the official Gamedev.in Discord and reach out to the organizers and mods in the #byog channel. We'll do our best to address your queries.


Legal Bit

  • Anything you make during the BYOG is your property. BYOG claims no rights or ownership of your game.
  • Any game submitted to BYOG may be used for promotional purposes by IndiaGDC, BYOG, and Gamedev.in without your express permission.
  • Ideally, it would be best if you created a significant portion of the game during the jam, but you can use whatever art, audio, or code assets you have the legal right to use.
  • You need to be an Indian citizen to participate in the jam. We are working on complying with other nearby countries and will update this bit once we have more info.
  • No explicitly pornographic, tasteless, discriminatory, or disrespectful content or hate speech is allowed.
  • The jam organizers have the final say in any and all proceedings related to the BYOG.
  • The rules of this game jam may be changed without any explicit notification to the participants.


Credits

This jam is run and organized by Chirag Chopra, Vivek Jha, and Yadu Rajiv as part of India GDC 2023.