Welcome to the first ever Jamfuser!   

Jamfuser is a game jam that feeds into Tranzfuser (a UK wide talent development programme for graduates looking to break in to the video games development  industry).

  Jamfuser will

• Support team self-selection opportunities, encouraging mixed institute/more diverse teams
• Enable teams to work together in a free form environment with a shared goal, that encourages skills development and fosters positive team relationships
• Gives teams the opportunity to test and explore their game idea in a short development cycle
• Share information regarding the Tranzfuser 2019 application process and criteria for selection
• Provide further support with the promotion of Tranzfuser
• Develop the Tranzfuser community
• Engage Tranzfuser Alumni to act as mentors during the jam

Jamfuser is " just for fun".  So as such there is no physical or cash prizes for taking part and we won't be selecting 'winners'.  Your prize is your product.  There is, however, a community voting system in place and all Jamfuser teams can vote for their 'favourite' game(s) based on the Jamfuser criteria (see below).   We encourage each team to use the final votes on their game as early feedback on their project,  making adjustments where necessary.

So to sum it all up...  If you’re thinking of applying to Tranzfuser 2019, Jamfuser is a fantastic opportunity to start exploring your team's dynamics, honing your technical skills and being creative.

  Who can participate?

• Team members should be undergraduate / masters or post graduates who have or will graduate between 2017-2019
• Team size between 4-6 people
• Teams with a  residential address in the UK
• Team who have submitted their Jamfuser Team Registration Form

All teams wishing to participate on Jamfuser are required to fill in the Jamfuser Team Registration Form (see link below).  This will enable us to ensure that:

• Your team is included in all communications from the Jamfuser organiser (this includes gaining access to our Jamfuser 2019 Discord Channel)
•  Your team is assigned a mentor
• Where possible, we can connect your team with one of our participating Local Hubs

Should your team wish to vote on the Jamfuser theme please ensure you have submitted this form by 12 noon Friday 1st March 2019.  We will email your team guidance on how to vote on the theme.

The FINAL DATE for teams to submit their Teams Registration Form is 12 noon Tuesday 5th March 2019 (your team will be unable to vote on the theme at the point).

Link to Jamfuser Registration Form

Finding a Team

If you don’t have a team don't worry!  You can sign up to Crowd Forge and find teams with vacancies and team members looking for a team to join.

Jamfuser Theme

Although Jamfuser, as with most game jams, will have a central theme participants are not restricted to create a game that adheres to the theme. Participants will not be kicked out of the jam for disregarding it. The theme is simply there to help jump start the creative process.

Theme Announcement

A week before the game jam begins 10 themes will be shared for "public" vote on the Jamfuser Discord Channel.  The theme with the highest number of votes will be selected and officially announced at 12 noon Friday 8th March 2019.

Rules

• Team members should be undergraduate / masters or post graduates who have or will be graduating between 2017-2019
• Team size between 4-6 people
• All teams and team members must have a residential address in the UK
• All teams must submit a Team Registration Form (see above)
• ***  Please note update to Content Rule.  It is preferable that teams start their game from scratch and not use previously developed content in the spirit of traditional games jams.  However, we are aware that a number of teams planning to apply to the Tranzfuser competition would like to base their game jam submission on the prototype they’ll apply with (ensuring that anything created during the game jam is in-keeping with the soon-to-be-announced theme and they don’t just submit a game they’ve previously be working on).  As the purpose of Jamfuser is to enable teams to “get ready for Tranzfuser” then it seems reasonable to allow teams to do this.  Therefore, if teams do decide to use previously created content please clearly state on your Project Page on itch.io that you have done so.  This will then enable teams to judge and vote for the finished games with this in mind.***
• Teams can make their game on any operating system, but it must be playable on Windows or web browsers (HTML 5)
• Submissions will be voted on by:
  •  the Jamfuser participants who submit their game
  • and contributors
• The 'favourite' game(s) will be those that receive the highest number of votes based on the Voting Criteria (see below) 
• Games must meet PEGI rating 16 or under, please see our Code of Conduct for further guidance on game content

Timescales

• Submit your team's Jamfuser Team Registration Form by 12 noon Tuesday 5th March 2019
• Theme will be announced and jam starts 12noon  Friday 8thMarch 2019
• The jam will end 12noon Monday 11th March 
• Deadline for game submission 1pm Monday 11th March (there will be no extensions or late submissions allowed as we have allocated an additional hour after the game jam ends for teams to submit their game)
• Deadline for teams to vote 12noon Friday 15th March

Voting Criteria

All submissions to Jamfuser will be judged and voted by participating Jamfuser teams who have submitted a game and also by selected UK Games Fund contributors.  The submissions should be judged on the following criteria:

• Strong connection to the theme
• Commercial Potential
• Fun
• Innovation
• Graphics
• Audio
• Narrative
• Teamwork evident in game creation

We will provide more guidance during the game jam.

Code of Conduct

This event is being run to build the Tranzfuser community pre-competition, to develop the skills of participants and to create a fun and engaging way to connect with us pre-application.  As a community we encourage learning and skills development in a safe and welcoming environment.  With this mind we ask that those who are taking part treat each other with respect and have pleasant manner when talking and interacting.

We will not accept, nor will we tolerate:

• any form of online bullying / name calling / abuse / publicly slandering other’s games in a malicious way / harassing, stalking or unwanted following / unauthorised photography or recording
• use of bad or offensive language
• sexism, racism, discrimination or any kind of exclusion
• posting of content that is inappropriate containing images that are pornographic in nature, racist, promoting extremist propaganda, or content that does not meet the PEGI 16 rating guidelines
• games which have gambling content are not permitted

  If you notice any behaviour that you feel does not meet this Code of Conduct, please contact the event organiser at help@ukgamestalent.com

Mentors

Would you like to be involved with mentoring a team or two during Jamfuser?  Or be available to help answer / solve technical issues via our online helpline?  Please contact help@ukgamestalent.com for more details.

After Jamfuser

Soon after we wrap up, Tranzfuser 2019 will be open for applications. You DO NOT have to use the same project you worked on over the course of the jam in your application. But you can!  Due to the very nature of the design of their idea during the jam, we will be encouraging teams to re-evaluate and take stock  to ensure they are going ahead with an idea that is technically feasible and could have some commercial viability. 

Teams can apply to Tranzfuser regardless if they have or have not participated on Jamfuser.  Participating on Jamfuser DOES NOT give automatic access to Tranzfuser, teams who decide to apply to Tranzfuser need to follow the application process as normal.

Jamfuser is really about helping young games devs explore the world of game development;  teamwork,  skills development, etc.

What you do next is really up to you!