Welcome to the International Women's Day Game Jam!

We challenge Australian Geeks to make a game over 1 month based on the theme of 'Illumination' supporting International Women's Day. 

This Game Jam is a collaboration between Level Her Up and The Array [ ], in an Australian first collaboration to promote and support women and non-binary people in the video game industry. 

We welcome all Australian developers of all genders, skills and backgrounds to challenge themselves to make a video game inspired by a theme - what you make it up to you! All skills and experiences are welcome!

Each State and Territory in Australia is welcome to participate, and we encourage each community to rally together and support each other, as well as reach out to others too! 

Don't worry if this is your first jam, or if you are only starting out on your game developer's journey - give it a go and see what happens! No one is expecting a polished product, and it's all about stretching yourself! The best bit is, at the end of the competition you will have learnt a lot, made some friends and have finished a game!  

If you're looking for a group, or want to know more, ask your questions in the game jam forums, or alternatively there are a list of contacts below to communities that may be closest to you.

Northern Territory: NT Game Designers (Discord)

Western Australia: Level Her Up (Website)

Melbourne: Lead Link (Discord)

Theme: 🕯️💡Illuminate💡🕯️

FREE Local Events for those in Darwin, AUSTRALIA

9 March  International Women's Day Game Jam Workshop

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/international-womens-day-game-jam-workshop-ticke...

30 March International Women's Day Game Industry Masterclass

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/international-womens-day-game-industry-mastercla...

Rules

There are only two rules. 

The first is that your game must not include any NSFW and offensive/discriminatory content. We want all the games to be playable by everyone!

 The second is that to be in the running for the prizes, you must be currently based in the Northern Territory and have entered your contact details upon submission.  But if you still want to join and don't care about the prizes, that's totally fine! We welcome you!

Apart from those 2 rules, you are allowed to use any game engine or framework, you can also use assets not made by you, but make sure you have the proper license to use them and crediting is of course strongly encouraged! Making everything from scratch is not mandatory, but if you do you get to be extra proud of yourself at the end!

Teaming up is allowed, and encouraged! Our recommendation is that you stick with 4 people maximum, otherwise you'll have a hard time coordinating.

Criteria

We want to see your work as you progress in your game engine, so please include 3 screenshots showing your project in the game engine you have chosen on your game's page.  

Generally speaking, the judges will be looking at the following:

• Innovation - Have you done something new or different? A classic mechanic in a different way or perhaps a new art style... 
• Game Play - How does a game feel to play? Hard to quantify and yet, immediately noticeable...
• Best Design (Art and/or Sound) - What is the style of the art and sound. Does it bring the game to life?
• Is there a clear love for your theme??

If you are using a brand new engine, we want to know how it felt! What were some surprises, things that were easier/harder than you anticipated?? There is a section upon submission for you to fill out exactly how you felt about using your game engine of choice. We also encourage you to share these thoughts on your game's page so that other members of the community can learn. 

If the engine you end up using is familiar to you (which is totally fine!) then perhaps you can use this as a chance to talk about the pros / cons of the engine, and why you decided to stick with it. 

Awards!

TBC