O2A2 2024 - Visual Novel Jam

Hosted by tofurocks, Nai @ MakeVisualNovels, Ekkoberry · #O2A2VNJam

262

Joined

Overview

Community8

O2A2 2024 - Visual Novel Jam community

!READ THIS! Rules, Interpretations, & FAQ Sticky

A topic by Ekkoberry created 30 days ago Views: 770 Replies: 34

Viewing posts 1 to 13

EkkoberryJam Host30 days ago(+5)

Welcome to the jam! Once you've read the rules on the main page, here are some more specific cases to give you an idea of what you can work with.

If you can't find your specific case or situation, feel free to ask below!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

GENERAL CLARIFICATIONS

You can:

have more than a single choice or fork in your VN/story
use your existing universe so long as the player does not need prior context to understand your entry
have unlimited solid color backgrounds in menus and in-game generated by the engine, alongside your illustrated BG
use Text-To-Speech without impact on any audio limits
use any freely available asset (paid, Creative Commons, and others)
generate images from AI prompts to adapt into assets if others can reasonably achieve the same output as you using the same settings - AI-generated assets are only allowed if you own the training data. (e.g. Photoshop's content-aware fill, training an entirely separate instance of AI on exclusively your work, using ML to remix art with permission from the artist, etc.) Systems in which the training data is not owned by the dev (ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and similar) will be removed.
provide additional information on the VN's website including separate character drawings, backstory info, banners and cover images, provided they don't make diminish the VN-only experience
use your own existing assets not specifically made for a VN/game (e.g. vacation photos, childhood drawings, old poem)
use previously created custom menu styles/GUI, even if they appeared in other games before
submit NSFW/R18 work, provided it's tagged/flagged appropriately
create additional simple shapes by code (e.g. squares, circles, etc.)
draw an image by code, but only when the results are equivalent to having a single sprite and single BG
prepare code for basic VN functions (e.g, skip, auto-forward, text history, save/load, etc.) in your engine of choice
use any engine to create a game that is considered a VN first and foremost (e.g. due to the required assets needed, an engine such as any version of RPGMaker would not be allowed)
update your game after the jam is complete (we highly recommend making it available as a separate download for posterity's sake, but this is not necessary)

You cannot:

use sprites, backgrounds, scripts or other assets made or commissioned for a different VN/game project before (even if it's unfinished or unreleased)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE SPRITE

It is within the rules to:

have many facial expressions for the sprite by changing eyes, nose, eyebrows and mouth
have many off-screen actors / characters, so long as only one is visually represented by a sprite
have a character sprite that includes a separate auxiliary character that does not feature in interactions (e.g, a woman holding a baby, a pirate with a parrot, blind person with dog)
have multiple "characters" associated with one sprite, as long as those are all a part of that singular entity (e.g, a medusa with talking snake hairs, a person playing with sock puppets on their hands, etc.)
have a "suggestion" of another character represented by a shadow or a reflection with very vague detail (see Illustration/CG rules)
have an "extra item" which is a single non-central element that will be hidden (man loses a hat, child's balloon flies away) or appears.
have a single alternate movement of a single body part that is drawn differently (head, single arm) so long as it doesn't change the pose, and so long as the VN does not also use the allowed "extra item"
use the single sprite for twins, clones, ghosts, swarms, etc.
mirror and otherwise transform the sprite in game
show only a portion of a sprite, including cut-outs or zooms.
have an inanimate object as the sprite (e.g. UFO, a portal, a robot)
having multiple small ambient objects as the sprite (e.g. adding traffic to the city, searchlights to prison)
fully or partially assemble a sliced up sprite in game, and apply effects to individual elements (e.g. a snowman's head)
animate parts of the sprite to achieve effects of breathing, bobbing their head, or other idle animation (this includes the usage of programs such as EmoFuri, Live2D, or Spline which do not require drawing new frames)
create minor frame-by-frame animations involving features of the face, such as blinking or mouth movement

You may not do the following:

have multiple changes of clothes for the sprite, or any other separate layers that overlap with their non-transparent parts
use a sprite overlay to vastly transform the background (e.g. pre- and post-war city)
create extensive frame-by-frame animations of the sprite outside of parts of the face (e.g. snapping fingers, turning a hand around, etc.)
change the sprite's pose significantly (e.g. move the torso)
drawing alternate forms of hair or shaded clothes for any movement

Illustrations (CGs) can:

be used instead of a separate sprite and background
feature a character with expression changes and other alterations analog to sprites
feature simple crowd silhouettes, or suggestions of people without identifying details

Illustrations (CGs) cannot:

show multiple people in high detail
show a silhouette next to a fully shown character

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE BACKGROUND

It is within the rules to:

use the engine's built-in functions, code, or scripting to alter the background (e.g. blur, night filter, mirroring)
have a small looping animation (e.g. inside of train with passing scenery, waterfall)
use zooming, panning and cutting around a larger image
reveal previously obscured information or areas through pans, zooms and cuts
use layers to show a sliced up an image as a single background (no opaque parts of layers can overlap)
use custom particle effects, so long as there is only one type of particle being used (e.g, cherry blossom petals, fire, etc.)

You may not do the following:

create secondary versions (via multiple separate files) of the background image (e.g. blur, night version)
use masks (via multiple separate files) to create secondary versions of the background image on screen
use an image which is created in such a way that focusing on segments effectively changes scenes
remove parts of a background to create a new scene, even if parts of it were seen in the original (e.g. there is a wall a window with a view outside, and then that wall is removed so the scene is now outside completely)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE THOUSAND WORDS

When in doubt, pure words counted by Google Documents are to be taken as standard.

Counts against the 1.000 word limit:

foreword / afterword / author's notes
text of all the VN's branches combined
text of choices
images of letters or longer-form text
any additional parallel language / translation
custom menu items like "Start your adventure" instead of "Start"
emoji-only statements (count as a single word)
emoji made of words (count as the amount of words in the emoji)
ellipses (a freestanding ... is considered a word by most word processors)

Does not count against the 1.000 word limit:

minigame using words if it's purely a game mechanic (does not advance story)
chapter names, even if displayed on screen
signs, posters, even if they relate to the story
short factual glossary, if explanation cannot be reasonably provided in game
in-game content warnings
credits, help / controls
user input text
emoji used to only accompany and reiterate a word or statement
repeats of blocks of text achieved by scripting (e.g. common route, recurring dream)
surplus text generated from a base text that is within the word count limit (e.g. chat bot, AI generator)
name tags, so long as they are not directly conveying narrative
image captions intended to describe visuals to players with low vision conditions for accessibility

Concerning the last point, please utilize an engine's accessibility features and do not abuse image captions to add to the narration in a way that moves it forward. We trust that participants will consider making their games more accessible to low vision readers in good faith.

If you are using Ren'Py, we suggest npckc's Caption Tool in order to add image captions to your game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE MUSIC TRACK OR ONE AMBIENT BACKGROUND NOISE

It is within the rules to:

use a looped sound effect acting as ambient background noise (e.g. rain)
use a track with multiple melodies / styles, if it existed prior to the jam, and only a single segment is looped, with another segment looped only for a special short segment / occasion.
alter the pitch or speed of audio via code

If an ambient audio file you create or find has multiple sources of different audio (e.g. a storm may have wind, rain, and thunder) and you do not control the timing of the other recorded audio, this all counts as one ambient track. If you do control the timing of other sounds, this counts as your sound effect.

You may not do the following:

create or use a track by combining composed music and ambient sounds
use a mash-up or mix of multiple songs with timed transitions (megamix, medley)
have additional menu music that loops (if the VN also has in-game music/ambient noise)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE SOUND EFFECT

The single sound effect...

can be used multiple times
cannot be looped continuously (if yes, it counts as background noise per the last section)
can be made by a person different from the voice actor (we consider this to be a foley sound)
can bed altered via code

This limit does not apply to interface sounds, which are considered part of the GUI. Having different sounds assigned to button hover, activation, etc. could be an accessibility feature for low-vision players, as that's audio feedback for different actions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE VOICE ACTOR

Your entry's single voice actor...

can use use variations of voices
can have their voice modulated and processed to create completely different sounding voices
can be replaced by sound effects / beeps processed to act as voices (this does not count as the sound effect)
can speak lines not part of the VN's text, provided they don't go over 1.000 words combined

Regarding usage of voice beeps in lieu of voice acting: you may create different beeps per character as long as it remains consistent to that character.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

SPLASH SCREEN / MAIN MENU / GAME MENU ART / GUI

The main menu / title screen background is now considered part of the GUI and thus is not beholden to many of the previous year's restrictions.

It is within the rules to:

display multiple splashscreens before the start (e.g, for the jam, engine used, studio logo)
have multiple variations of the title screen / game menu background
show as many characters / objects as you'd like
show a different location from the one in the game
use a combination of the sprite and background or the one CG as the main menu
have multiple typefaces

You may not do the following:

show any part of the main menu in the flow of your script if it is different from the assets in the game

Regarding image buttons that appear to be objects: these buttons should only appear as a choice, and the images should not appear again in other parts of the game due to the fact that this can be abused to bypass the item/arm/head change limit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE THUMBNAIL ART

The restrictions for the itch thumbnail for your game's preview have now been relaxed, as we recognize that it is an important aspect of marketing your game to potential players. It is within the rules to:

show as many characters as you'd like
show a different location from the one in the game
create any animation for it, even one with multiple frames of animation

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE PROJECT

One person in the O2A2 jam...

can only be the primary creative lead for a single project (e.g. producer, director, author)
can additionally be a secondary creative contributor for someone else's project (e.g. draw a sprite)
can further collaborate on other projects in a non-creative role (e.g. coordination, marketing)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFERING WEB BUILDS OF YOUR ENTRY

If you offer both a web and downloadable version of your game, you may optimize effects (e.g. video backgrounds) for the web build as long as the downloadable version follows the rules. You may want to note differences between versions if applicable. Please follow this rule in good faith.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

OMAKES AND FANDISC RULES

An omake means "extra," as in extra/bonus content for source material that you own or have permission to develop for. Fandisc is another term for the same concept.

It is within the rules to:

reference assets from your main game to create new assets (e.g. redrawing a sprite or BG, making a remix of a song, etc.)
reuse code from your main project to expedite development (e.g. recycling animations, code for setting up images, etc.)
use the same GUI from your main project

You may not do the following:

directly reuse any non-GUI assets you have created for your main game

We highly suggest writing your omake in a way that those unfamiliar with the source material are able to enjoy it, but this is not a requirement.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

FANGAME AND DERIVATIVE WORK RULES

Fangames or derivative works are generally unofficial works based on source material that you do not own or have express permission to develop for. The O2A2 Jam Hosts are not responsible for any cease and desist notices for individual entries should they occur.

It is within the rules to:

adapt an existing fanfic or other work you created or have permission to use into a visual novel format

You may not do the following:

directly reuse any assets from the official source material (this is piracy!)

We highly suggest writing your fangame in a way that those unfamiliar with the source material are able to enjoy it, but this is not a requirement. For your protection in the majority of cases, we also suggest turning donations and PWYW off for fangame entries.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSLATIONS/DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

In the case that you want to release a game in several languages: the restrictions on 1k words and the one VA would apply to each version.

It is within the rules to:

make a game with several languages, where the text of each version does not surpass 1000 words.
use a different VA for each language.

You may not do the following:

use more than one of any other asset that is not affected by having different languages in the game.

eishiya30 days ago (3 edits)

Would having a background consisting of a cross-section of a building and panning between different rooms count as "effectively changing scenes"? Would it make a difference if the rooms are shown in a way that emphasises the cross-section nature of the art, e.g. always showing a bit of the other rooms?

I was thinking of setting a story in a small tower where it's one room per floor linked by a spiral staircase, and panning up/down through the rooms. I'm guessing that if the rooms were united in purpose (e.g. all just part of a big machine powering whatever's in the final room) it might be fine, but in my case, the rooms have differing though related purposes (e.g. a bedroom, a parts room) and thus probably count as different scenes?

And about sprites: If a character adjusts their clothing, e.g. fixing their collar, would that be too much? This would require three images: 1. neutral pose, collar messed up, 2. one hand moved, 3. neutral pose, collar fixed.

Edit: And yet another question: There's no mention of fonts in the rules. Since UI elements are unlimited, does this mean I can e.g. have different characters speak in different fonts?

EkkoberryJam Host30 days ago(+1)

1. These rooms have different purposes and are effectively different scenes so are not allowed due to:

You may not do the following:

use an image which is created in such a way that focusing on segments effectively changes scenes

2. The way you're describing it, it would count as 3 different sprites-- so that would not be allowed. A single sprite (with layers) can have the messed up collar/fixed collar OR the hand poses without change in the angle of the arm.

3. Multiple fonts fall under UI and so are allowed!

Banya30 days ago

Hello! I have two questions because I've been brainstorming the project...

1 I read that minimal change of object is allowed, so if the sprite has an object in hand / no object in hand / handing the object without pose change is it allowed?

2- if I have mannequins or skeletons in the background, with them being just for decoration, would it be okay?

EkkoberryJam Host30 days ago

1 We're a little confused by "handing the object"? But yes, you can have a version of the sprite with and without the object as long as the pose doesn't also change.

2. Anything that would be considered a "crowd" like the mannequins/skeletons should have a low amount of details so they can't really be considered a character, but as long as that's abided by, it's allowed!

Banya29 days ago (1 edit)

Thank you Ekkoberry! >w<

1- I meant that they handed the object to the MC, it would change the pose of the hand minimally, that's why I was asking... but I can do it without if it's not allowed, having it with and without the object would be fine already

Edit: I read in the other reply that hand movement if I don't change the angle of the arm is allowed, so I can do it right?

2- Yes just decoration for the room, they will not be referred as characters... it will probably be just 2-3 because I don't think I will be able to sketch that many but the intention is having them as furniture

EkkoberryJam Host29 days ago(+1)

1: Oh ok sorry >< It's EITHER item OR sprite change, so you can't change the hand too if you have the object! No pose change!

2: Yeah that's fine!

Banya28 days ago

Got it! I'll go with the object then, no sprite change uwu thank you again!

pumpkin spike27 days ago

Hello, I have a question to the following rule in the perspective of making a point and click game!

use layers to show a sliced up an image as a single background (no opaque parts of layers can overlap)

From what I understand of the rule, it's to prevent someone from making objects move in the background? Is that correct? So in making a point and click, I'll need to make a "hole" behind a clickable object in order to make it clickable.

However, this takes a lot more work than making the bg and layering the object on top so it can be clickable/hoverable. Would it be alright to have overlaping opaque parts if I follow the spirit of the rule (no movement of the selectable objects)?

Or, if I am completely off base, is it possible to get some advice on how to make a point and click function within the rules of the jam? Since it's listed as an acceptable minigame in the rules?

tofurocksHost27 days ago

From what I understand of the rule, it's to prevent someone from making objects move in the background?

That's the correct reason, yup.

Weltschmerz had some very light point and click elements in it and was made in Ren'Py, and those screens are assembled using Imagebuttons:

transform explore_size:
    zoom 0.78
    xoffset -1941
    yoffset -110
transform explore_zeke:
    xoffset -950
    yoffset -100
    zoom 0.78
transform train_effect:
    parallel:
        linear 0.7 xoffset 2
        linear 0.7 xoffset -2
        repeat
    parallel:
        linear 0.7 yoffset 2
        linear 0.7 yoffset -2
        repeat
screen explore_1():    
    imagebutton idle "mg" action Call("anywhere_1") at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "fg" action Call("anywhere_1") at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "door_p" action Call("door_check_1") focus_mask True at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "zeke side" action Jump("proceed_1") focus_mask True at explore_zeke, train_effect


screen explore_2():
    imagebutton idle "mg" action Call("anywhere_2") at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "fg" action Call("anywhere_2") at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "door_p" action Call("door_check_2") focus_mask True at explore_size, train_effect
    imagebutton idle "zeke side" action Jump("proceed_2") focus_mask True at explore_zeke, train_effect

If you're using a different engine, then you can use whichever method is easiest for you. Good luck!

vermis17 days ago

In regards to backgrounds: like in *Penultima* from last year's jam, are we allowed to create a background that uses hands/arms to imply a second character by framing our single sprite? I quite liked the presentation of that game and wanted to do something similar

EkkoberryJam Host14 days ago(+1)

Ah, checking the rules, Penultima actually does too much-- the secondary characters arms aren't allowed ><, sorry!

vermis14 days ago

Thank you for the clarification!

DION0615 days ago

Does moving the head counts as an expression change or a pose change?

EkkoberryJam Host14 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

~~Pose change!~~

To correct what I said earlier-- It's not an expression, you can't have multiple of them, but we do have a rule allowing a change of head if that's what you'd like to do:

It is within the rules to:

have a single alternate movement of a single body part that is drawn differently (head, single arm) so long as it doesn't change the pose, and so long as the VN does not also use the allowed "extra item

vermis11 days ago

Sorry to jump in, but Weltschmerz and Yesterday, The World Ended from the jam page move the heads of the sprites. Is it because they are such minor movements that the change is allowed?

EkkoberryJam Host11 days ago

Ahh I was probably too hasty on calling it a "pose change"-- I'll change my previous answer to correct that.

A single head change IS allowed, stated here:

It is within the rules to:

have a single alternate movement of a single body part that is drawn differently (head, single arm) so long as it doesn't change the pose, and so long as the VN does not also use the allowed "extra item"

It's not an expression, as you cannot have as many head changes as you want (just the one! as the rule states) but maybe me saying "pose change" implies it's not allowed at all-- sorry!

I hope that clarifies things! ><

vermis11 days ago

Thank you, that does clarify things!

CatTrigger11 days ago

Hello, in terms of a voice actor, are things like barks / chirps / occasional dialogue okay, or would you need it so that a Voice speak the entirety of the dialogue that's presented?

One example is something like the voice actor saying "Hello, I'm Bob." And the dialogue presented is "Hello, I'm Bob. The manager of this joint."

EkkoberryJam Host9 days ago

As long as the total doesn't exceed the 1000 word rule, you're fine to have partial VA!

(A note that barks like *laughs* or *sighs* will add a +1 to your wordcount! but only saying part of a written line is completely fine.)

CatTrigger8 days ago

Thank you for the info!

Kotzwinkle11 days ago (1 edit)

Here's a weird question. Would using a normal map for lighting be within the rules?

EkkoberryJam Host9 days ago(+1)

Normal maps should be fine! :0 Though only one allowed ofc!

Kotzwinkle9 days ago

Gotcha, thanks!

AstralRam6 days ago

use any engine to create a game that is considered a VN first and foremost (e.g. due to the required assets needed, an engine such as any version of RPGMaker would not be allowed)

I was looking through games submitted for O2A2 in 2023, and one of the first ones in the list was made in RPG Maker. Is this a rule that has been added for the upcoming 2024 jam? As far as I could tell from playing the game, it only had 1 sprite and 1 background - are the required assets mentioned in the quoted rule "hidden" in some way from gameplay, or..? I hope the question makes sense ! <3

EkkoberryJam Host1 day ago

It's not a new rule! Though after some discussion with the other judges, if it's possible to achieve a game that meets all of O2A2's requirements, we don't see why it couldn't be used to make a submission.

(I'm personally not familiar with how to strip down the engine to achieve such a thing though, so I can't advise on how to go about doing that ><)

elduator5 days ago

Hello everyone ♥️!

I have a question in regards to the O2A2 regulations; especially in regards to the sprites.

I am planning to make a chatsim-esque entry with sequences of where the characters chat and where one of the characters calls in via a video chat. I was thinking of using a sprite and background for those video call sequences.

My question is; Would the icons next to the chatbubbles count to the UI or as a separate sprite?
In my opinion it belongs to the GUI since it is part of the user interface of the chatsim - but I want to make sure it's within the rules.

Thank you in advance
Anna

tofurocksHost4 days ago (1 edit)

Hello elduator,

PRINCESS INTERNET CAFé and I discussed this last year and this was the ruling we determined:

Thanks for your patience, we've discussed it and have come to this verdict.

For an "icon" in settings where a electronic device is used to communicate via text, the following is allowed as GUI for the visual portion:

- Individual letters, words, and characters (such as in languages like Chinese or Japanese) in any language, stylized within engine

- Standardized Emoji Sets

There is a creative workaround I used in my own entry, HRT Simulator 2023, however. The icons below the "video" portion are actually cropped squares from the background. This is what the Ren'Py code looks like:

image icon_chair = Crop((350, 400, 100, 100), "sprites/background.png")
image icon_cowboy = Crop((570, 280, 100, 100), "small:sprites/background.png")
image icon_tsun = Crop((200, 200, 100, 100), "sprites/background.png")
image icon_frog = Crop((1670, 790, 100, 100), "sprites/background.png")
screen member_list():
    text "Members — 4" align (0.225,0.65)
    vbox:
        align (0.025,0.95)
        spacing 100
        
        hbox:
            spacing 50
            hbox:
                spacing 20
                add "icon_chair"
                text "72CollectiveChairs" yoffset 30
            hbox: 
                spacing 20
                add "icon_cowboy"
                text "CowboysKissing69" yoffset 30
        
        hbox:
            spacing 50
            hbox:
                spacing 20
                add "icon_tsun"
                text "IcedCoff33Tsunami" yoffset 30
            hbox:
                spacing 20
                add "icon_frog"
                text "UrFavoriteFr0g" yoffset 30

Hope this provides some inspiration!

elduator4 days ago

Hiya!!

Thank you for your reply! ❤️

At first I didn’t quite understand what you meant, but now I do, haha!

Would it also be possible to crop stuff from the main menu or game menu backgrounds and repurpose them or is it only restricted to the background itself? 👀

Hei'an3 days ago

If the one illustration shows the back of a separate character (as in, not the one featured as the one sprite) that doesn't have any significant detail (i.e just their hair), would it be considered 2 characters?

EkkoberryJam Host21 hours ago

That would be considered 2 characters! Hair/back view is still too much detail ><

Hei'an8 hours ago

How about a silhouette or even a back of a chair obscuring everything?

adonan2 days ago

Would additional body of text outside the dialogue box count against the 1000 words?

The rules said that 'signs, posters, even if they relate to the story' does not count against 1000 words. But does something like this count?

EkkoberryJam Host21 hours ago(+1)

It counts!:

Counts against the 1.000 word limit:

images of letters or longer-form text

Victor Moonlit1 hour ago

Hello, I have a weird question regarding clarification on the game engine. It does mention that using any engine is allowed as long as it follows the aforementioned rules— is creating your own VN engine allowed? I'd like to create a game for this jam, and while I am fine with using Ren'Py, I'd prefer to code my game from scratch.

Thank you in advance for your response, and I hope this isn't too stupid of a question!

itch.io

O2A2 2024 - Visual Novel Jam

!READ THIS! Rules, Interpretations, & FAQ Sticky