Jam hosts, could I get clarification on the "MAKE IT YOURSELF" rule? I know we are supposed to only use whatever we can produce within the time of the jam, but is it acceptable to use pre-made basic things like the character controller component in Unity, or do I have to engineer my own whole new character controller method from scratch for this? Also any pre-made basic systems or methods or mechanics, like colliders, physics, etc. that are natural features of the IDE, is any of that okay to use? Is there a distinction of some pre-made things that are okay?

The Character controller does the work for you indeed. And when I was teaming for a beginner Jam, I didn’t understood what it was so I couldn’t help. However you can totally use the Unity engine, and I already authorized something like probuilder. if it doesn’t do the work for you it’s fine (You need to learn by yourself first, it’s the goal of this Jam). Asset store is still forbidden. We are thinking about an “hardcore jam” for those that are not totally beginners but want to improve. If you already used the Character Controller, just say it clearly in the game description, you are here to improve not to be punished.

Ah, rats. The only other character controller I know how to make is a raycast controller, but that takes much longer to code. I decided to go with the quick and sloppy way because of the short timeline, so I could spend more time on everything else. Although, I don't know how to use raycast without Unity's pre-made collider system... so I guess it wouldn't have mattered. Thanks for answering.