The jam has been extended to April 11th!

Welcome to the Crypto Game Jam!

Prizes:

Winner will receive: $100 in Coinbase cryptocurrency of choice and one premium subscription to The Dollar Vigilante!

The winning game developer has the chance, if they desire, of being interviewed by Jeff Berwick and even having their game sponsored by TDV for app store publishing.

Rules:

1. Make a game that:

A. Utilizes the concept of cryptocurrency and related technologies in gameplay AND/OR

B. Expands upon the possible future or practical philosophy of crypto and decentralization technology in a story AND/OR

C. Is built and/or integrated with or on a blockchain platform or other related technologies AND/OR

D. Has anything to do with cryptocurrency and related technologies somewhere.

2. Games must be playable on a Windows PC in one form or another, whether natively or on browser. You may have additional builds for Mac, Linux, mobile, etc. but Windows is required.

3. Upload game here o itch.io and submit it to this jam page.

Games must be made and submitted between:

March 28th, 12:00 AM EST to April 11th, 11:59 PM EST

Voting will be between:

April 11th, 12:00 AM EST to April 18th, 11:59 PM EST

The jam has been extended.

4. Games must be free-to-play until the end of the jam.

5. Games will be judged for the criteria of the crypto theme/story, gameplay, technology as a whole.

6. Breaking these rules (ie cheating) will result in the removal of game submission from the jam.

7. All decisions made by the host and sponsor and judges about this jam are final.

8. By joining this jam you agree to these rules.

Judging:
1. Games will be judged on the following subjective criteria by no less than 3 judges: 

Cryptocurrency Story/Theme

Gameplay

Technology (If it applies)

2. Any entry by the host or judges are excluded from the judging process and prize granting.

Game Jam FAQ:

Q. So... how do you actually make a game in under a week?

A. There are many ways to do this. This is what I do personally, or try to:

Day 0 - Day 1: Ideas brainstorm, mockups, basic game outline/description, Start on the actual project file

Day 2: Game foundations, simple placeholder graphics, controls, player, enemies, weapons, 1-2 game mechanics, playable test room

Day 3 - Day 4: Expand gameplay, add content, add win/lose condition, add conflict, add difficulty, add scoring

Day 5: Add more levels, add sounds and music, add backgrounds, add more graphics, upload a build

Day 6: Add title screen, add menu, add more content, remove/replace placeholders, upload a build

Day 7: Get someone else to test, polish, and upload final builds

Notice this is very gameplay-centric and gameplay-first technique.

Q. Can I start brainstorming ideas and planning my game before the game jam starts?

A. Yes! Just remember to reduce scope, scale down, and make something playable by the submission deadline.

I would recommend boiling down the game to just one or two fun mechanics, make something playable quick.

Q. Can I use any game engine or framework?

A. Yes, there are no limitations as long the final game is playable on the Windows PC somehow, whether natively or on browser. Unity, Game Maker: Studio, RPG Maker, Bitsy, Godot, Construct, Twine, and so on, all are fine.

Q. Can I use premade assets?

A. As long you have the right to use them (ie licensed to you or public domain), you may.

Q. Can I work with a team?

A. Yes.

Q. Can I use blockchain or related technology to build the game?

A. We highly encourage it if you can! However, it is very technical, even for me, the host of the jam, and I have many games under my belt, so we are fine if the games are just about crypto in one form or another. Just remember to explain how in the criteria question. Games that use blockchain are CryptoKitties and CryptoBots.

Q. I do not know how to code blockchains. Can my game just be about or reference cryptocurrency somewhere?

A. Yes, absolutely! As long it has some form of reference to the theme, it is fine. You can even clone a basic existing game and put crypto in it. But if you do so, please add more creativity than just a copy-pasted asset flip.

Q. Do I retain the rights to my game?

A. Absolutely. You retain all the rights to your game. You may keep it free or sell it after the jam, too. Just make sure it is free until the voting jam ends.

Q. What is The Dollar Vigilante?

A. "A dollar vigilante is a free market individual who protests the government monopoly on money and financial policies such as fractional reserve banking and un-backed fiat currencies by selling those same fiat currencies in favor of other assets, often including gold, silver, foreign real estate and bitcoin."

The Dollar Vigilante (TDV) is not your typical financial newsletter. While TDV cover all aspects of the ongoing collapse of the US dollar financial system, TDV does it from a free market view. In fact we are the most thoroughly free market newsletter there is as all editors, writers and analysts for TDV are libertarian purists (anarcho-capitalists) grounded in free-market Austrian economics.

The Dollar Vigilante is sponsoring this jam.

Q. Can I use a signature image?

Q. I have a question not on this FAQ

A. Ask away on the Community!

Crypto FAQ (relevant terms are italicized, these are oversimplified on purpose):

Q. What is cryptocurrency?

A. Cryptocurrency is money encrypted and stored in a digital platform.

Q. What is blockchain? What are blocks?

A. A blockchain is a decentralized database of transactions. Instead of banks with private ledgers, transactions are recorded into a public ledger. Blocks are sets of transactions that make up the blockchain.

Q. What problems do blockchains solve?

A. An obvious problem blockchains solve is that a blockchain public ledger ensures that someone can't spend digital money twice (double spend).  It also makes centralized institutions like banks unnecessary to check for that double spending as a public network does it.

Q. What is Bitcoin? What are altcoins?

A. Bitcoin is the first widely known decentralized, blockchain-based cryptocurrency, and is the most valuable cryptocurrency at the time of this writing. Altcoins are any cryptocurrency that isn't Bitcoin.

Q. What is cryptocurrency mining? What is cryptocurrency trading?

A. Cryptocurrency mining is a process used to generate new cryptocurrency, which usually involves rewarding solving highly complex mathematical algorithms with specialized hardware like graphics cards. Mining usually generates new blocks on the blockchain. Confirming transactions is also one other way to reward and mine cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency trading is trading different types of cryptocurrency including Bitcoin and altcoins for profit.

Q. What are ICOs? What are white papers?

A. An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) are events where coin tokens are sold by crowdsourcing. White papers are information material about a coin project.

Q. What are these technologies used for other than exchanging money?

A. Blockchain technology has applications for voter fraud prevention, government efficiency, cloud storage, smart contracts, decentralized applications, and so on. Blockchain does for money and the credit system and any transaction system what Uber and Lyft does to taxis and Airbnb to hotels.

Q. What controversies have cryptocurrency weathered?

A. The identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto has never been confirmed. Bitcoin has apparently used for the Dark Web site Silk Road and other illegal activities. The price of Bitcoin is often subject to accusations of a financial bubble. Various conspiracies are pegged on cryptocurrency.

Q. What is the future of cryptocurrency and related technologies?

A. Optimistically, we hope that cryptocurrency and related technologies help push for a more free and decentralized world.

Reading Material and Inspiration:

The Total Beginner’s Guide to Cryptocurrency Trading (Bitcoin, Ether and More)

A Primer On Cryptocurrency and Blockchains (With Historical Context)

A Blockchain Primer

What Is Blockchain used For Other Than Bitcoin

7 Most Interesting Uses For the Blockchain

Crypto Games:

A List of Tokenized Games (games built on blockchains)

Top 5 Video Game Cryptocurrency Projects

Blockchain Goose (crypto fairly Twine game by me)

Crypto Crime (board game)

Crypto Battle (game built on Ethereum blockchain)

Bitcoin Billionaire (iOS and Android clicker)

Ideas:

A simulation for trading volatile cryptocurrency.

A tycoon for a decentralized, blockchain business.

A crypto idle game where one amasses crypto by mining.

A cyberpunk story about the future where cryptocurrency plays a big role. Issues that might be tackled may include how quantum computers might break encryption on some cryptocurrency, bubbles bursting or not, and so on.

A clone of a popular game like Pac Man or Mario but with Bitcoin instead of pellets or gold coins... (But please add more creativity than this, so use the reading material and inspiration)

A Bitsy game about your first time buying Bitcoin.

An abstract puzzle Tetris like game about accumulating blocks in blockchains.

A game that is literally built on a blockchain, like CryptoKitties and CryptoBotss.

Sponsored by The Dollar Vigilante.