Welcome, Blind and Sighted Game Developers!

Welcome to the fourth annual Games for Blind Gamers jam! 

The goal of this jam is to make games for blind players and build awareness of blind gaming and accessibility in general. We welcome developers of all types (beginners and veterans, sighted and blind, etc.) and encourage them to learn about blind gamers and accessibility to create interesting and creative games!

Note that for this edition, the top game, as rated by our blind judges, will get a $100 prize! 

See our past editions for inspiration: 1st (2021), 2nd (2023), 3rd (2024).

Jam Details

What: A month-long chilled jam where you create a game that blind players can play, too.

When: In 2025, from February 1st to Feb 28th, 23h59/11:59 pm (EDT/GMT-4)

Why: Blind gamers have their own set of challenges when gaming. We hope to build awareness and create interesting, creative games that they can enjoy too!

How: Create a game (solo or in teams). Then, public voting will determine the Community Winner (anyone with an account on Itch can vote) and a panel of judges will vote on the Judges' Choice, which will receive a prize.

Prize (Judges' Choice): Since we have a prize of $100 this year, our panel of blind judges will independently vote after the jam ends on which game to award the prize!

Jam team: NightBlade, Ericbomb (leads) and Patrícia (UX help)

Rules

The rules are:

1. Make your game accessible for blind players - or, at least, try to;
2. Don't work on the game before the jam starts  (code, audio, graphical assets, etc);
3. You can work alone or in teams (no size limit).

Also, to ensure as many people as possible can play your game, please make sure it runs on either Windows, or exports as a web game that runs in a browser, and that it is free to play during the submission and evaluation period.

While you can't work on the game itself before the jam starts, it is OK to:

• Work on framework/engine/tooling code; 
• Create a game engine before the jam; 
• Work on generic code like: save-game serialization, controller input, etc.
• Have a general, not game-specific, collection of graphical/audio assets to pull from.
• Your game must be available, for free, during the rating/judging part of the jam.

Please don't actually work on your game until the starting date. We trust you! 

That's pretty much it. More clarifications/rules may be added in response to questions before the jam starts.  We're on Discord pretty actively.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do you have a community/discord server?

A: Yes! Our dedicated Games for Blind Gamers Discord server has useful pinned messages about accessibility and a very welcoming community with sighted and blind devs and gamers.

You can use it to: 

• Discuss the jam; 
• Ask questions;
• Get feedback;
• Show your progress;
• Network with others to form a team before the jam;
• Etc.

After the jam, we provide additional  support to finish and ship your game, and for ongoing projects and discussions about accessibility and blind-friendly games.

Who wins the jam? Is there a prize?

A: This edition, there may be two winners:

The community winner has no monetary prize. This game is chosen by public community voting - anyone with a registered itch account can vote -, and the winner doesn't win a monetary prize.

The judges' choice wins a $100 prize. This game is chosen by our panel of blind judges. They will vote individually for the game with the best overall experience, including accessibility.

What is the voting criteria?

A: Fun Gameplay, Sound Design and Creativity.

Can I update/edit my submission during the voting period?

A: Yes. At any time (before, during and after the voting period) you can fix/edit the game, uploading updated game builds.

Where can I find and talk to blind gamers?

A: We have a channel on our Discord server specifically for this! Join and ask away!

Can I include graphics?

A: Yes! 

Blindness and visual impairments are in a spectrum, ranging from completely blind to varying degrees of sight. While many blind players won't care about graphics, some will; and graphics will certainly attract sighted players to your game.

Do I need to be sighted to join the jam?

A: Nope, blind and sighted game developers are welcome!

How do I begin making a game for blind players?

A: This depends on the type of game you're making but we do have some advice:

1. Check out our Wiki, and its which has good information on this topic.
2. Check out the submissions from our past editions: 1st (2021), 2nd (2023), 3rd (2024).
3. "Turn off your monitor and play the game"
   ... That's the most common advice I get when I ask blind gamers.
4. Download the NVDA Screen Reader (free)
   ... to get an idea of how blind players interact with your game. Here's the NVDA user guide.
5. Audio is critical.
   Think carefully about background and foreground audio, and how to convey important information through audio (e.g. distance as volume or pitch).
6. Don't leave the "accessibility" to the end - build it from the very first line of code.
   Leaving that to last may take longer than you think or not work as well as expected.

Some other good practices are:

• Give preference to keyboard and controllers. 
  Mouse input isn't inherently bad, but most blind users prefer to use keyboard or controllers instead.
• Make the game start full-screen;
• Sound Libraries, found from the main menu
  As found in The Last of Us This list teaches the meaning of each Sound Effect used. E.g: "You hit a wall", followed by a "thunk" sound.
• For grid-based games, allow for a "look" option
  ... to explore/see the contents of each tile around the character.
• Test it early and frequently with prototype builds.
  Sometimes, things don't work as expected.
• If in doubt, ask for feedback! If not, ask anyway!
  Our community has people with a multitude of experiences and they can share a diversity of options and preferences for what may work best.

Check out out the Games for Blind Gamers wiki FAQ for more details and tips!

How much previous code can I use?

A: This is honor-based: you can re-use some existing code, but the intent is to create something new and exciting during the jam period. Don't take something that's 90% done and submit it here.

It's ok to re-use and work on before the jam: 

• Engine/framework code, 
• Tools like audio generation,
• etc.

Do I have to make a text game (interactive fiction, roguelike, etc.)?

A: No, you can use any gameplay mechanics and genres. 

But it is a valid option - it's certainly easier to create regarding accessibility. You'd be able to focus more on content and sound rather than on gameplay and coding. 

Check out out the Games for Blind Gamers wiki FAQ for more details and tips!