Welcome to our latest $50,000 Prize Pool Game Jam

Creators of all types; we’re thrilled to invite you to take part in the Crayta September 2022 Game Jam, and the Theme is…

“Shaping the Future”

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

TOP 3 

1st Place - $10,000: ALETHEIA: Defenders of Tomorrow by SylGames

2nd Place - $8,000: Sprouts of Hope by JebiAlex and Vargath 

3rd Place - $5,000: Beyond the End by Fracaset Games 

SPECIAL AWARDS - $3,000 each 

The Puzzling Award: Futures by Obazu 
The UI Award: Squadron 94 by Rosey and Kay
Same Time Tomorrow: Farmatons by AriesCaries
The Work of Art Award: Apocalypse Chill by LittleCreator
Every Player Counts: Grid Twisters by DecoRayder
The Coding Award: EcoTopia by Daystiny
The Learn-To-Play Award: Cybotanic High by ItsJacky
The Cybotanica Award: Suppress by DryCereal 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS - $500 each
Returner 60 by CzinCzar and Lakwaii
Market Mayhem by Vilva and NyaAlchemi
Balance of Power by im lazyy
Requiem by Verruckt
TO THE RIFT by elfwy
Eco Town Tycoon by Sovereign Games

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*EXTENDED TIME* This Jam will run between:

12th September 2022, 11am BST / 6am ET and 20th September 2022 11am BST / 6am ET

In July, 2022, Crayta entered the season of Cybotanica. The season explores new life - both organic and artificial. In this month’s Game Jam, we are looking for games that explore every aspect of the Cybotanica season.

Cybotanica is all about an optimistic future where artificial life and organic life successfully co-exist. These two concepts “Cyber” and “Botany” are what gives the season its name.

We now want the games that do justice to this marvelous theme.

• Who are the heroes and villains of a game in this Cybotanica  future? What do they want and how does that affect the game?
• Think about the ecological side of this future world. What resources might be important to create - or to destroy?
• Is your game set in a utopian or dystopian world. We see a lot of dark and gloomy games so how can you make something that starts - or ends - with a bright, optimistic future.
• Cybotanica is a strongly eco-friendly theme. What can your game say about the current state of the world’s ecology.
• Can you help people learn something important about botany - or artificial life - through your game?

In the August 2022 Crayta Build Jam “Living City” - we challenged the community to create packages, resources and blueprints that could be used in a Cybotanica-themed game. The “Shaping the Future” Game Jam is a perfect opportunity to take inspiration from the work done by the community for that jam and turn those ideas into fully fledged games.

And finally, as ever, we would love to see a wide variety of games and game types for this jam. There’s no “correct” answer to what type of game you should make or what genre you should work in.

And the inspiration notes we’ve provided above are not requirements in any way - just little thoughts and ideas to get your ideas flowing. 

Now… Be daring. Be creative. And get Jamming!

Shaping the Future Prizes

Overall 1st Place - $10k 

2nd Place - $8k 

3rd Place - $5k

And then we also have 8 specific awards of $3k to give out.

• Same Time Tomorrow - 
  • The game with the best player retention mechanics that makes you most desperate to have another go - or come back tomorrow to continue playing. Whether this is a reward-track, unlock mechanic, some persistent system within your world - or something else entirely - just make us desperate to come back to your game..

• The Work of Art Award 
  • The best looking game. This could be a richly detailed canvas, or an exercise in elegant minimalism. Follow your creative heart to win this award.

• The Coding Award
  • One for the more technical creators. Amaze us with your coding skills as you create something extraordinary.

• Every Player Counts
  • This award goes to a game that can be played solo - or with multiple players to help or hinder you.

• The Cybotanica Award
  • With the Cybotanica season in full swing, we are looking for games that explore the themes of an optimistic future where technology and natural life are working in harmony. Think about the “botany” aspect of Cybotanica as well as the “cyber” aspect. Combine these ideas in an interesting way to be in with a chance of winning this award.

• The Puzzling Award
  • Many players love puzzles as well as action games. Get our brains tingling to win this award.

• The UI Award
• The best UI should be intuitive, helpful and visually attractive. It should help the player understand the game and allow them to make good decisions when playing.

• The Learn-to-Play Award
  • This award is for the best use of in-game tutorials and other forms of user-experience to help players get the most out of the game in the shortest possible time.

We'll also have up to six $500 runners-up prizes for those honourable mentions that we just have to tell people about. It'll be possible to win more than one of these categories but we'd love to see as much variety as possible – SO GET CREATING!

What is Crayta? 

Crayta is the game and world creation platform that anyone can use. It is a truly collaborative game creation platform built on Unreal Engine 4 - you and your friends can jump in and create games together in the cloud, regardless of your experience.

Play from an endlessly growing library of user-generated multiplayer games across a huge variety of genres. 

New to Crayta? Head to crayta.com  to get started - you could be playing and creating within minutes. If you need to know more, join our Discord and or Facebook Group to chat with the team and community to learn how you could take part in the Build Jam, or collaborate with existing creators, you definitely don't have to make it alone!

Crayta run creative Jams regularly, alternating between a Build Jam and a Game Jam, so if you miss this one, or just don’t feel it’s right for you, then check back soon to find our the theme of the new Jam.

FAQ 

Can I use any other game engine?

- No. All entries must be built in Crayta.

Can I use packages from other creators in my entries?

- Yes, if they are useful for what you are making, but we will take into account how much of it is your own creation

Can I submit multiple entries?

- Of course, but you may be better off spending time to make sure one entry is as useful and perfected as possible!

Once you’re Ready to Submit 

First, hit publish, and put your game into the world of Crayta!

Second, create a Project Page for your game using THIS LINK. Then add your submission to this itch page, including the launch link for your game, which can be found on the Companion Site or in-game.

Feel free to create a forum page on Game Releases. This isn't necessary for the entry, but is a nice way for more people to see your game! You can also post on the Game-Releases channel on our Discord.

Note that once the deadline has passed, you can make no changes to the published version until we’ve announced the winners! Feel free to edit without publishing, but any games with publish dates/times after the deadline will be disqualified.

Competition Rules

A copy of the competition rules can be found here:

https://developer.crayta.com/jam-rules/

NO PURCH. NEC.  Begins 11:00:00 AM BST on [12/09/22]; Ends 11:00:00 AM BST on [19/09/22]. Open to individuals who are not domiciled in Quebec (CA), Crimea, Cuba, Sudan, Iran, North Korea, Russia,  Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, China, or Syria, or located in a country under any trade or economic sanction or on any program or country list designated by the USA Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or where the laws of the USA or local law prohibit participation or receiving a prize in any contest, 18+ and age of majority, and have an active Crayta account.  To enter Crayta $50,000 Shaping the Future Game Jam, sign up to the jam, and enter your submission before the deadline with links to your forum posts and any other showcase you may wish to include.  [There are 17 prizes to be won, ranging from $10,000 to $500, with a total of up to $50,000 being awarded].  SUBJECT TO OFFICIAL RULES [https://developer.crayta.com/jam-rules/]. Void where prohibited Sponsor: Meta Platforms, Inc. 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, California 94025 USA.