WELCOME GAME MAKERS, CREATIVES, ARTISTS, AND VISIONARIES!

Welcome to Just Play: A Game Jam for Justice , an official SXSW 2024 games event produced by Cinereach and Anima Interactive. This global games competition is on a mission to challenge video game developers to explore themes of justice in creative ways to open minds and inspire new perspectives.

Finalists will be celebrated at an official event and ceremony at SXSW 2024 and will be eligible for the opportunity to participate in a Cinereach-run workshop to further develop their prototype. One grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize. See official rules for details.

GAME JAM TIMELINE

DEC 1, 2023 - JAN 8,  2024 - SUBMISSIONS OPEN

JAN 9 - 30, 2024 - JURORS WILL EVALUATE SUBMISSIONS

EARLY FEB 2024 - FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

MARCH 9, 2024 - AWARDS CEREMONY AT SXSW 2024

MARCH 10 - 13, 2024 - SXSW 2024 CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

We believe games can be powerful tools to address crucial issues, and we invite you to offer your unique voice! With Just Play, we are excited to bring to the game development community insights that emerged from Cinereach’s research about how our direct experiences of justice (and injustice) have a much greater impact on our understanding than mere passive engagement with the topic. By enabling players to explore systems of justice interactively through gaming, we hope to inspire players to think about their relationship to systems of justice in the real world.

Your challenge: produce an inspirational game that incorporates one or more of the issues highlighted in the eight chosen social justice areas. We’re looking for targeted and impactful games that can potentially urge players to take action. Games can be either in development or completed. Submissions can be varied in technique, subject matter, and approach, but most importantly they must be impossible to ignore. 

Please check out our website for the official rules, or read below.

Please fill out an entry form by January 6, 2024. If you're making a game with a team, make sure every team member submits a form separately. You will not be eligible for the finalist pool if you don't submit an agreement.

THEME OF JAM

Storytelling for Justice

JAM RULES

The submission window opens December 1, 2023. Submissions are due no later than 11:59 pm ET on Saturday January 6, 2024. Please refrain from making games centered around violence, blood, abuse, or topics that can be negatively triggering. In participating in this jam, you commit to creating a functional and polished demo that can serve as a pitch for competing within the prize pool. 

LEGAL

Anything you make during or for Just Play is your property. Cinereach and Anima claim no rights or ownership over your game prototype submission. Cinereach will provide a first look to certain finalists to be considered for its workshop programs and potential further development financing (see “what do finalists receive” below). 

If you are chosen as a finalist, you agree that your game prototype, with credit to you, will be displayed by Cinereach and Anima during the awards ceremony for the game jam currently scheduled for March 9, 2024 at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas and at the Creative Industries Expo also held at SXSW 2024 and grant Cinereach a limited royalty-free license to do so during the SXSW 2024 festival and in press releases honoring the finalists, the Just Play website, the Cinereach website and other press and promotional materials in connection with the Just Play game jam.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

Anyone 18 and older can participate in the jam. 

WHAT PLATFORM CAN I USE TO MAKE MY GAME/EXPERIENCE?

We are accepting submissions across multiple platforms (PC/console, mobile, XR). 

To qualify for the finalist pool, you must port your game to Android and Windows. You may also choose to port for Mac. We will not accept analogue games, games created in proprietary platforms or games that require an emulator to run.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

For PC/console/mobile prototypes, your Submission must be uploaded to Itch.io by the submission deadline. By submitting, you agree to be bound by Itch.io’s Terms of Service.

You may only submit your own work. By submitting your prototype project, you are representing and warranting that you (and your team, if applicable) have not plagiarized, forged or copied anyone else’s work and that no generative AI was used by you or your team in the creation of your project. Any violation of this representation will be grounds for automatic disqualification, upon the discovery of such violation, and the rescinding of any award or prize.  

The assets contained in your Submission must belong to you or be used under an appropriate license, which you agree to provide to the Organizers upon request.

Your Submission must include the name and title of each person on your team.

You may not impersonate another person or submit anything on another person’s behalf without their written permission, which you agree to provide to the Organizers upon request.

You may only submit one Submission to the Jam.

NOTE: Pre-existing projects are not eligible for the grand prize; however, they will still be considered for the SXSW showcase and awards ceremony as well as the potential opportunity to participate in a narrative change workshop led by Cinereach.

WHAT ASSETS CAN I USE? 

Any assets that you have made, purchased, or downloaded with proper licensing are permitted. Assets developed or derived from generative AI technologies are prohibited.

WHO WILL JUDGE THE GAMES? 

The judging panel will be comprised of professional game developers, narrative change experts, and other creatives working across various media. Judges will play games and select finalists between January 7, 2024 and January 31, 2024. Finalists will be publicly announced and notified via email on February 1, 2024.

SUB-THEMES

Although the main theme of the Just Play jam is Storytelling for Justice, we encourage all participants to pull from one or more of the following subthemes in order to add specificity and context to their submissions: Community, Ecology, Economy, Health, Narrative, Post-Colonial, Spiritual and Technology Justice. More information about these 8 types of justice can be found within the Cinereach toolkit. 

WHAT WILL THE GAMES BE JUDGED ON?

Judges will be asked to evaluate submissions based on the following criteria:
1) Narrative storytelling, 2) creativity and artfulness, 3) entertainment value, and 4) incorporation of the justice themes and integration of the Cinereach workshop toolkit principles. 

WHAT DO FINALISTS RECEIVE?

You will be honored in an official award event at SXSW 2024 in Austin currently scheduled to take place the evening of March 9, 2024. In addition, Cinereach will offer certain finalists the opportunity to participate in virtual workshops to further develop their prototype some time during fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025). Workshop participants would be provided an honorarium for their time. Based on alignment with Cinereach’s mission and goals and on the results of those workshops, at Cinereach’s sole election, finalists may potentially be eligible  to be considered for further development financing from Cinereach, subject to further terms to be negotiated between the parties in good faith.

WHAT DOES THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER RECEIVE?

Out of the finalist pool , there will be one grand prize winner selected to receive a $10,000 USD cash prize, which will be paid in two installments: $5,000 at the awards’ ceremony and $5,000 after successful completion of the workshop process which will occur some time during fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025). 

IS THERE FINANCIAL SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE TO ATTEND THE SXSW EVENT?

All finalists (both U.S. based and international) will receive an invitation to attend the SXSW award ceremony. A festival badge will not be required to attend the SXSW award event. For travel expenses, there are limited funds ($500 USD per qualifying finalist) available to subsidize a portion of the travel expenses for those coming from a radius of over a 500 miles away from Austin-Metro area if such finalist qualifies for financial aid. To qualify for financial aid, such finalist’s annual income must either fall below $75,000 or below the area median income by such applicant’s state and metro region (if located in the U.S.) and also be traveling over 500 miles to attend the ceremony. For those who cannot attend in person, they can elect to be honored virtually.

IS THERE A DISCORD I CAN JOIN? 

Yes! Please join the Discord server. A channel for the game jam will be open for you to use on December 1, 2023. You'll be able to talk to other jammers to brainstorm, form teams, and receive feedback or help.

Use #JustPlayGameJam on socials to share your progress!

SEPARATE POOL FOR EXISTING GAMES ONLY:

• Eligibility: Open to developers with existing projects in early stages.
• Submission Criteria:
  • Projects should be in an early developmental stage but past the initial concept phase.
  • The project should align with one or more of the 8 justice themes.
  • Submission should demonstrate potential for further development.
  • Must adhere to the provided platform requirements.
• Evaluation: Submissions will be evaluated separately from the game jam entries, focusing on storytelling skill, creativity, potential for further development, relation to justice themes, and adherence to the Cinereach workshop toolkit principles.
• Honors: A selected percentage of submissions, separate from the game jam pool, will be chosen to be honored and showcased at SXSW and will receive an invite to the Cinereach workshops.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

The game jam is open to anyone 18+. We welcome participants of all kinds and strongly encourage marginalized creators to participate. No previous game development experience is required.

Any other questions? Contact us here.