The Historically Accurate Game Jam is a friendly video game-making competition with historical themes, generally taking place twice a year.

In previous jams, we've covered themes such as the Famous Assassinations, Cold War, Your Country's History - and you get to decide what comes next! Challenging yourself to make a game that has historically accurate roots can be surprisingly fun.

Why don't you give it a try?

WINNING PRIZES

Maestro Cinetik will be sponsoring HAGJ10 - giving each teammate from the winning team a free copy of their game, Cauldrons of War - Stalingrad! Winners will also receive bragging rights with the "Guests of Honor" (temporary, until the next jam) and "Cross of Valour" (permanent) server roles on our Discord community!

Join us on Discord if you would like to exchange ideas/thoughts on historical themes in games, or want to find teammates for the next HAGJ!

All rounds and events will begin/end at 16:00 GMT +1 by default.

THEME SELECTION ROUNDS

• Round One: 24th - 30th of January 
  Submit your theme idea for the next jam. These ideas will be vetted and released during the next round.
• Round Two: 31st of January - 6th of February
  (May not happen depending on number of initial themes suggested)
  Pick two themes from the released theme list. The vetted list will be released during the next round.
• Round Three: 7th - 13th of February
  (May not happen depending on number of initial themes suggested)
  Pick two themes from the Top 15-30 themes. The Top 5 themes will be released during the next round.
• Round Four: 14th - 20th February
  Pick two themes from the top 5. The winning theme is released at the start of the jam.

GAME RATING

After the submission period ends (21st of January - 2nd of March), all participants of submitted games are encouraged to play, rate and leave constructive criticism for other HAGJ9 entries. This paves the road to decide the winner and help us all learn from the experience.

The rating period will end on the 16th of March, and the results of the game jam will be released the next day on the 17th of March.

Games are rated on six categories:

• Overall - your average rating, based on the other criteria.
• Gameplay - How well does the game play? Consider fun factors, difficulty scaling and options.
• Graphics - How does the game look? Do the visuals match the gameplay?
• Audio - How were sound effects and music? Did sound match the gameplay and the theme?
• Thematic Relevance - How relevant is the game is to the current theme? How well was the theme applied to the overall game and gameplay?
• Historical Accuracy - How similar the game is to actual historical events and process?

RULES

1. No sexual content - it's great if this jam can be suitable for people of all ages, please.
   
2. Theme suggestions/Submitted entries supporting ahistorical positions associated with ultranationalism or persecuting historically marginalizing groups will be disqualified. The discussion and representation of historical persecutions, extreme nationalisms, and atrocities are permitted for entries within this jam, but games and historiographies that endorse or condone those actions and their associated ideologies are not.
3. Other than self-made ones, you can only use free assets (e.g. music or art) and you must give credit where credit is due.
4. Teams can only include up to 6 members. Contributions from people outside the limits of the team may be permitted in the case of voice actors. E.g. a team member doing the recording and audio work is counted within the team limit, but additional people contributing voices are not.
5. Only submit video games made within the jam period.
6. Submitted games that are not relevant to the theme/sensitivities of the jam may face disqualification. A trustee will reach out on the submission page to find out more about the submission. Lack of responses will finalize disqualification of that entry within 48 hours.
7. Inappropriate entries failing to follow through with rule 2 or 6 will be promptly removed, after screenshots have been taken.

FAQ

• Who can enter? Anyone. There's no skill floor - the jam is about having fun!
• How much effort should I put in? There's no point overworking yourself, so only do what you feel comfortable with!
• What game engines am I allowed to use? Using engines or code bases is only allowed if they're publicly accessible before the jam starts.
• Can my video game be about alternate history? Your video game must start historical, but you can allow the player to do ahistorical things or have a narrative which can lead to ahistorical things taking place. Remember, your game will be rated on Historical Accuracy!
• Can I reuse code or use AI-generated content? You can, but only if it's really basic - you can copy-paste a movement script to save time but you can't copy-paste an advanced shader script or a whole game system. The rule I'd usually follow is that you can only copy-paste if you could write the script without really thinking. For the sake of fairness, we encourage developers to add a disclaimer on their submission page.
• How many versions of your game should you release during the jam? While you may submit games for any platform, we advise entrants that not all participants are able to download and play on all platforms. Having a web version of your game is often the best option to ensure your game can be played and rated by most participants. If this isn't possible, it may be advisable to consider what cross-platform options you can provide for players.

THANK YOU!

• Maestro Cinetik, for sponsoring the winning prize for HAGJ10!
  
• Cabbitat, for designing the jam page banner and logo components.
• Tuile, for designing the splash screen, server logo, and other announcement graphics.
  Additionally, for her efforts towards managing the jam, and for writing and posting server/community announcements.
• Sengkala, for connecting us to our sponsors for HAGJ10.
• Sam Scribbler and Jubal Barca, for providing their unique insight and fulfilling some moderator duties.